OFFICIAL    REPORT 


OF   THE 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


HELD   IX 


SAINT  LOUIS,  MISSOURI, 
ox 

OCTOBER  26TH,  27TH  AND  28TH,  1881, 

INCLUDING 

LETTERS  FROM  DISTINGUISHED  MEN  THROUGHOUT  THE 
COUNTRY,  AND  PRESS   COMMENTS. 


TOGETHER  WITH   A 

MEMOEIAL    TO    CONGRESS 

PREPARED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TWEXTY-OXE,  AS  AUTHOR- 
IZED BY  THE  CONVENTION". 


SAIXT  LOUIS: 
GREAT  WESTERN  PRINTING  COMPANY. 

1881. 


PREFACE. 


There  is  presented  in  this  little  book  a  record  of  the 
most  important  River  Convention  ever  held  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  —  a  Convention  composed  of  delegates  from 
nearly  every  section  of  the  Union,  who  represented  every 
variety  of  industrial  interests,  and  fairly  reflected  the  ma- 
tured opinions  of  the  people  upon  the  important  question 
of  river  improvement  as  the  chief  adjunct  to  cheap  trans- 
portation. The  Convention  met  to  carry  out  a  well-defined 
purpose,  as  set  forth  in  the  "Official  Call,"  and  the  una- 
nimity of  its  action,  as  expressed  in  the  resolutions  unani- 
mously adopted,  after  a  full  and  free  discussion,  was  a 
marked  feature  of  its  deliberations.  Representatives  of 
twenty  States  and  three  Territories  declared,  "  as  with 
one  voice,"  that  the  imperative  duty  of  our  National 
Legislature  was  to  bestow  such  aid  for  the  improvement 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  its  navigable  tributaries,  as  the  de- 
mands of  an  ever-increasing  commerce  required,  according 
to  the  judgment  and  plans  of  the  River  Commission,  and 
United  States  Engineers,  in  charge  of  the  works.  The 
attempt  has  been  made  to  record  accurately  what  was  said 
and  done  at  the  meetings.  In  a  few  instances,  the  names 


M16596 


of  delegates  addressing  the  Chairman  have  necessarily  been 
omitted.  The  request  was  distinctly  made,  that  persons  on 
rising  should  first  give  their  names ;  but,  in  some  cases, 
this  request  was  not  heeded,  and  in  place  of  the  name, 
the  compiler  has  been  forced  to  use  the  word  "  delegate." 
The  speeches  have  been  carefully  revised,  in  order  to  give 
the  exact  words  of  those  addressing  the  Convention ;  and 
it  is  hoped  and  believed  that  the  compilation  will  be 
adopted  as,  in  the  main,  full  and  accurate  in  detail. 


REPORT  OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS 


OF   THE 


I»ippi  River  Improvement  Bonvention, 


SECTION  1— FIRST  DAY. 

ST.  Louis,  October '26,  1881. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  Mr.  Michael 
McEnnis,  President  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange,  who  said : 

"  GENTLEMEN:  With  your  permission,  I  will  ask  Mr. 
George  L.  Wright  to  read  the  official  call  under  which  we 
have  met  here  to-day." 

Mr.  George  L.  Wright  then  read  the  official  call,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"The  Merchants'  Exchange  of  St.  Louis,  through  the 
undersigned,  its  Executive  Committee,  duly  appointed,  hereby 
issues  a  call  to  the  people  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  for  the 
selection  of  delegates  to  a  Convention  to  be  held  in  their  city 
on  the  26th  day  of  October,  1881,  to  deliberate  on  the  ques- 
tion of  improving  the  great  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable 
tributaries.  The  call  is  made  in  pursuance  of  a  general 
desire,  communicated  through  the  press,  emanating  from 
various  commercial  bodies  recognizing  the  importance  of 
united  and  intelligent  action  on  a  subject  of  the  most  vital 
importance,  and  fixing  upon  St.  Louis,  the  central  city  of  the 
Valley,  as  the  proper  place  for  holding  the  Convention. 

[5] 


6 

"  The  rapid  growth  and  settlement  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, and  with  it  the  development  and  enlargement  of  the  export 
trade, — a  trade  made  up  in  largely  controlling  proportions  of 
its  products, — has  forced  upon  the  thought  of  the  country  the 
question  of  cheap  transportation.  All  the  later  commercial 
and  trade  experiences  have  demonstrated  that  only  by  the 
cheap  water  route  can  this  question  be  so  placed,  as  in  its 
resultant  influences  to  represent  and  embrace  fair  profit  to 
the  farmer,  the  manufacturer  and  merchant,  the  classes 
through  which  all  others  become  participants  in  the  profits 
of  industry. 

"  The  necessity  of  improving  these  navigable  streams,  and 
the  correlative  duty  of  the  General  Government  to  give  its  aid 
as  to  a  great  national  work,  is  derived  from  a  consideration  of 
their  functions  in  the  commerce  and  trade  of  the  country. 
Within  the  area  of  States  and  Territories  drained  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  its  navigable  tributaries  are  produced  90  per  cent, 
of  the  corn,  73  per  cent,  of  the  wheat,  83  per  cent,  of  the 
oats,  64  per  cent,  of  the  tobacco,  77  per  cent,  of  the  cotton, 
and  66  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  live  hogs  of  the  whole 
country.  In  addition  to  the  vast  supply  of  food  and  textile 
products,  the  abundance  of  coal,  iron  and  timber  mark  it  as 
the  seat  of  manufacturing  industries,  the  great  and  unques- 
tioned source  of  American  production  and  national  revenue. 

"  Even  in  the  present  imperfect  condition  of  navigation 
one-seventh  of  the  amount  of  this  vast  production  which 
enters  into  the  export  trade  of  the  country  goes  to  the  ocean 
by  way  of  the  Mississippi  river  at  a  cost  of  less  than  one- 
third  at  which  it  can  be  carried  by  any  other  route. 

"When  it  is  remembered  that  this  region  has  in  the  later 
years  furnished  to  the  markets  of  the  world  the  products 
which  have  changed  the  balances  of  trade  in  our  favor  and 
made  us  among  kindred  commercial  races  the  creditor  instead 
of  the  debtor  nation,  the  necessity  for  united  and  intelligent 
work  on  the  part  of  its  people,  and  of  liberal  and  comprehen- 
sive action  on  the  part  of  the  national  legislature  in  the 


improvement  of  these  water-ways,  becomes  too  apparent  for 
argument. 

"  With  channels  made  equal  to  the  demands  of  trade,  from 
the  highest  point  of  navigation  in  these  great  national  arteries 
to  the  Gulf,  maintained  throughout  the  year  in  successful 
competition  with  the  trunk  lines  of  railroad,  the  question  of 
cheap  transportation — the  supreme  question  of  the  hour,  the 
foundation  to  all  future  prosperity — is  settled,  and  the  country 
will  enter  upon  a  new  career  of  progress. 

"  We  may  regard  with  some  satisfaction  what  has  been 
accomplished  in  reducing  the  cost  of  transportation,  yet  what 
has  been  witnessed  is  but  a  tithe  of  what  may  be  anticipated 
in  the  future,  when  the  river  system,  under  wise  method  and 
liberal  appropriations,  is  placed  as  its  matchless  value  deserves, 
as  its  power  of  development  demands. 

"  With  even  more  satisfaction  may  we  regard  the  advanced 
thought  which  now  requires  that  the  improvement  of  the 
great  river  shall  stand  as  a  national  work,  on  its  own  merits, 
and  unconnected  with  any  other  subject  or  object  of  appro- 
priation. [Loud  applause.] 

"  In  view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  and 
the  results  to  be  obtained,  we  cordially  and  earnestly  invite  the 
various  boards  of  trade  of  the  Valley  so  largely  interested  in 
these  results,  as  well  as  those  from  communities  outside 
the  Valley  who  appreciate  the  scope  of  the  Convention,  to  send 
delegates  fully  penetrated  with  the  necessity  of  action,  and 
with  ability  to  represent  the  great  interests  at  stake. 

"  The  Convention  will  be  composed  of  delegates  from  the 
States  and  Territories  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  Governors 
being  hereby  authorized  and  requested  to  appoint  ten  from 
each  State  and  five  from  each  Territory. 

"  From  each  board  of  trade  or  cotton  exchange  two  dele- 
gates for  each  100  members,  said  bodies  to  be  entitled  to  at 
least  two  delegates. 

"From  corporate  cities  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  where  no 


8 

boards  or  exchanges  exist,  two  delegates  from  each,  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  mayor  of  each  city. 

44  The  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  Senators  and  Representatives  in 
Congress,  and  Governors  of  States  and  Territories,  will  be 
invited  as  guests  of  the  Convention  and  assigned  seats  on  the 
floor  during  its  deliberations. 

44 [Signed]  MICHAEL  McENNis,  President. 

"  JOHN  JACKSON,  E.  O.  STANARD, 

44  JOHN  A.  SCUDDER,  H.  C.  HAARSTICK, 

44  FRANK  GAIENNIE,  E.  W.  GOULD, 

44  HENRY  HITCHCOCK,  JOHN  T.  DAVIS, 

44  HENRY  LOUREY,  NATHAN  COLE, 

44  C.  F.  ORTHWEIN,  E.  J.  LACKLAND, 

44  CHARLES  PARSONS,  E.  C.  SIMMONS, 

44  A.  H.  SMITH. 

44  FRANK  GAIENNIE, 

"Secretary. 

44  GEORGE  L.  WRIGHT, 

4  4  Corresponding  Secretary . ' ' 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of  the  call  Mr.  McEnnis 
then  addressed  the  Convention  as  follows  : 

GENTLEMEN  :  As  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  appointed  by 
th'-  Merchants'  Exchange  of  St.  Louis,  under  whose  authority  tin- rail  ha- 
been  issued,  it  devolves  upon  me  to  call  this  Convention  to  order. 

The  language  of  the  call  sufficiently  explains  the  objects  and  aims  of  the 
Convention.  It  is  strange  that  at  this  late  day  there  should  be  a  n<  ressii  y 
for  calling  the  people  of  this  valley  together  to  urge  upon  Congress  its  duty 
and  obligation  to  enact  measures  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mis-i--ippi  and 
its  navigable  tributaries.  The  people  of  the  rniu-d  States  are  famous  for 
their  public  spirit  and  enterprise.  Every  subject  involving  the  interest  or 
happiness  of  the  people  has  received  due  attention,  exeept  alone  the  qu 
that  has  brought  us  together.  I  mean  the  improvement  of  our  great  water- 
ways. What  raii<e~  this  indiffereiiee  to  a  que-tion  xi  vital  to  tin-  prn-p'-rity 
Of  the  people?  Are  w  ignorant  <>f  their  value,  or  ran  we  dispense  with 
them?  \o:  we  have  frittered  away  much  time  and  money  over  *mall 
schemes  and  purely  local  question-.  It  is  tini'-  we  -topped  ami  altered  our 
course.  This  valley  of  our-  includes  eighteen  States  and  three  Territories 


9 

It  is  capable  of  producing  sufficient  to  feed,  clothe  and  house  the  world.  It 
now  contains  one-half  the  population  of  the  United  States,  and  could  sustain 
ten  times  as  many.  It  now  yields  a  surplus  of  production  that  has  turned 
the  balance  of  trade  in  our  favor  and  made  us  the  creditor  instead  of  the 
debtor  nation.  Its  products  will  soon  enable  us  to  control  the  financial 
destiny  of  the  world,  and  we  will  reap  the  rich  harvest  always  within  the 
grasp  of  a  people  so  highly  favored.  But  we  must  do  our  duty.  This  duty 
is  plain  and  imperative.  We  must  go  before  Congress  with  such  overwhelm- 
ing proofs  of  the  necessity  of  improving  these  rivers,  by  deepening  their 
channels,  removing  obstructions,  and  giving  us  a  free  outlet  to  the  sea,  that 
our  petitions  (I  would  rather  say  demands)  will  meet  with  immediate  and 
favorable  consideration.  The  Government  engineers  have  completed  their 
surveys.  Their  recommendations  have  been  approved  and  adopted  by 
Congress  and  the  War  Department.  A  commission  has  been  appointed  and 
is  now  at  work  within  the  scanty  limits;  of  the  appropriations, — and  doing 
good  work.  The  time  has  now  arrived  when  we,  the  people  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  must  unite  and  insist  that  these  improvements  shall  be  pushed 
forward  with  vigor,  and  that  sufficient  money  shall  be  appropriated  to  per- 
mit work  to  be  inaugurated  at  all  necessary  points  at  one  and  the  same  time. 
[Applause.]  We  should  not  tolerate  any  more  ten  or  twenty-j'ear  delays. 
We  want  a  systematic,  far-seeing,  statesmanlike  management  of  this  great 
work.  The  labor  and  cost  of  properly  improving  these  streams  would  not 
be  one-fourth  that  necessary  for  the  building  of  the  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 
Look  at  the  difference  from  the  standpoint  of  national  advantage.  The  one 
was  a  private  enterprise,  upheld  by  the  credit  of  the  Government,  the  other 
is  a  great  public  undertaking,  designed  for  the  good  of  all,  and  destined 
to  repay  every  cent  of  the  cost  in  a  few  years  in  the  increasing  revenues  to 
the  Government  and  in  the  enhanced  value  of  the  products  that  would  float 
down  on  the  waters  to  the  sea.  Have  these  watery  highways  improved  and 
this  vast  valley  will  sing  with  the  song  of  happy  millions  bound  together  by 
a  common  bond  of  interest. 

We  purpose,  with  your  help,  gentlemen,  to  make  this  Convention  the 
dawn  of  a  new  era  in  the  commercial  history  of  this  valley.  We  do  not 
intend  to  permit  the  actions  of  this  Convention  to  be  pigeon-holed  or  buried 
in  a  committee  at  Washington.  [Loud  applause.]  We  will  compile  and 
print  the  correspondence,  discussions  and  acts  of  this  Convention,  with 
statistical  information  that  will  sustain  and  justify  an  agitation  that  shall 
not  cease  until  justice  is  done  this  valley  [renewed  applause]  and  our  local 
representatives  are  brought  to  a  vivid  realization  of  the  fact  that  they  must 
protect  the  interests  of  their  constituents  or  go  back  to  that  private  life 
which  men  lacking  the  ability  or  the  foresight  to  discern  and  execute  the 
will  of  their  constituents  deserve. 

These  are  my  individual  sentiments,  and  in  them  I  think  the  sentiments 
of  the  Merchants'  Exchange  are  reflected. 

To  you,  gentlemen,  we  surrender  the  further  consideration  of  this 
subject.  You  bring  to  its  elucidation  the  lessons  of  political  economy  and 


10 

experience.    May  your  deliberations  be  guided  by  wisdom  and  crowned  by 
success.     [Loud  applause.] 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  above  address  Mr.  McEnnis  said  : 

"  Gentlemen,  the  Executive  Committee  has  requested  Hon. 
Henry  Hitchcock  to  deliver  the  address  of  welcome.  Mr. 
Hitchcock  will  now  address  you." 

Mr.  Hitchcock  then  came  forward  amid  applause  and 
addressed  the  Convention  as  follows  : 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  :  In  behalf  of  the  Merchants'  Ex- 
change of  St.  Louis,  at  whose  call  you  have  assembled.  I  am  requested  to 
greet  you  upon  the  threshold  of  your  deliberations. 

In  their  behalf,  as  the  organized  representatives  of  the  mercantile  inter- 
ests of  this  city,  itself  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  center  of  this 
great  valley,  I  have  the  honor  and  the  great  happiness  to  offer  a  cordial 
welcome  to  you  who  come  accredited  to  represent  the  productive  industry 
and  the  commercial  enterprise  of  the  millions  who  inhabit  it.  And  I  beg  to 
a.—ure  you,  gentlemen,  that  however  earnest  that  wi-h-ome.  it  must  bean 
inadequate  expression  alike  of  the  heartfelt  good-will  with  which  all  classes 
of  their  fellow-citizens  welcome  your  advent,  and  of  the  deep  interest 
which  they  feel  in  the  vitally  important  subject  you  have  assembled  to  con- 
sider. 

That  subject,  gentlemen,  has  already  been  announced  in  the  call  just 
read  in  your  hearing,  and  in  response  to  which  this  large  and  distinguished 
assemblage  has  met.  In  a  word,  it  is  the  question  of  improving  the  Mis- 

Ippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries.  It  is  the  question  of  cheap 
transportation, — to  us  Western  men,  as  that  call  so  well  and  earnestly 
declares,  "the  supreme  question  of  the  hour.*'  [Applause.] 

It  is  not  needful,  if  it  were  indeed  appropriate  at  this  moment,  ihat  I 
detain  you  by  dwelling  in  detail  upon  the  wonderful  resounds  and  the  still 
more  marvelous  possibilities  of  thi-  imperial  valley.  Its  star  of  empire 
already  shines  brightly  far  above  the  horizon.  Already  the  wise  men  of  the 
East  have  turned  towards  it  their  inquiring  and  not  unanxious  gaze.  [Loud 
applause.]  And  if,  with  the  modesty  characteristic  of  Americans,  and,  above 
all,  of  Western  men  [laughter],  we  concede  that  this  new  empire  is  yet  in 
its  infancy,  we  are  reminded,  if  I  may  use  the  well-worn  figure,  of  the 
infancy  of  Hercules,  who  smilingly  strangled  in  his  cradle  the  Python  who 
came  to  destroy  him. 

These,  gentlemen,  are  figures  of  speech.  More  prosaic,  but  far  more 
eloquent,  are  those  figures  of  the  statistician,  some  of  which  are  given  in  the 
call  for  this  assemblage.  You  were  reminded  by  those  figures  of  the  enor- 
mous contributions  of  thi<  valley  to  the  sustenance  not  only  of  this  nation, 
but  of  the  civilized  world.  It  t«-!N  you  what  percentage  of  the  vast  product 
of  this  nation,  in  grain,  in  tobacco  and  in  cotton  came  from  the  teeming 


11 

fields  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  But  the  percentage  is  only  one  factor  in 
that  great  sum.  May  I  ask  your  attention  for  a  moment  to  the  other  factor, 
which  discloses  the  significance  of  that  percentage?  When  we  are  told 
from  official  data  that  within  the  area  of  States  and  Territories  drained  by 
the  Mississippi  and  its  navigable  tributaries  has  been  harvested  ninety  per 
cent,  of  the  corn  produced  by  the  whole  country  in  one  year, — that  means, 
gentlemen,  ninety  per  cent,  of  one  billion  five  hundred  and  forty-seven  mil- 
lion (1.547.901,000)  of  bushels  of  Indian  corn,  which  is  the  official  statement 
of  the  total  production  of  that  grain  in  the  United  States  for  1879.  When 
we  are  told  that  this  valley  has  produced  seventy-three  per  cent,  of  the 
wheat  of  the  whole  country, — it  is  that  proportion  of  four  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  millions  (448,000,000)  of  bushels,  produced  in  1879.  Eighty-three  per 
cent,  of  the  oat  crop  of  the  country  means  eighty-three  per  cent,  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-three  millions  (363,761.000)  of  bushels.  Seventy-seven 
per  cent,  of  the  cotton  means  seventy-seven  per  cent,  of  2,367.540.900  pounds, 
— say  4.700.000  bales. — and  so  for  the  rest.  These  figures  relate  to  nineteen 
States  which  are  drained  by  the  rivers  of  this  valley.  The  percentage  is 
but  little  less  if  it  be  confined  to  the  fourteen  States,  which  are  the  ••  Val- 
ley States  "  proper.  Enormous  as  are  these  results,  they  cease  to  be  sur- 
prising when  we  consider  or  attempt  to  consider  and  realize  what  the  area 
of  that  valley  is.  Referring  again  to  official  statistics,  and  particularly  a 
tabular  statement  compiled,  I  believe,  by  Professor  Von  Steinwehr,  in  con- 
nection with  the  census  of  1S70.  it  appears  that  the  whole  country  may  be 
properly  divided,  with  reference  to  the  distribution  of  its  water-courses,  into 
four  great  drainage  systems.  These  were  styled  respectively  the  Atlantic 
Coast  System,  the  Pacific  Coast  System,  the  Northern  Lake  System,  and  the 
-ippi  Valley  System,  and  the  area  of  the  district  included  in  each  sys- 
tem was  carefully  compiled.  That  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  System  is  204.538 
square  miles;  that  of  the  Pacific  Coast  System,  834.314  square  miles;  of  the 
Xorthern  Lake  System,  185.337  square  miles, — these  three  systems  together 
aggregating  something  over  1.344.000  square  miles  of  area.  But  the  area 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  System  is  1,683,303  square  miles  [applause], 
the  excess  alone  of  the  last-named  system,  over  all  the  rest  combined,  being 
338,000  square  miles;  and  that  excess  itself  being  many  thousand  square 
miles  greater  than  the  entire  area  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  System,  and  nearly 
double  the  area  of  the  one  designated  as  the  Xorthern  Lake  System. 

But,  gentlemen,  after  all  these  figures  are  stated,  who  does,  who  can.  in 
truth,  realize  their  significance?  The  astronomers  used  to  tell  us. — at  least  I 
was  so  taught  when  I  was  a  boy. — that  the  sun  was  96.000,000  of  miles  distant 
from  the  earth.  Of  late  years,  I  believe,  their  calculations  have  been  revised 
and  the  distance  is  now  stated  at  ninety-seven  and  a  half  or  ninety-eight  mil- 
lions. But  mathematicians  also  tell  us  that  for  practical  purposes  it  makes 
no  great  difference  which  is  correct;  for,  it  is  said,  the  human  being  does 
not  live  who  has  ever  been  able  to  form  a  really  correct  conception  of  one 
million  of  anything.  Gentlemen,  the  significance  of  these  figures  is  not  found 
merely  in  piling  up  these  statistics,  however  large  they  sound  or  how- 


ever  striking  an  iinpiv>-it.n  they  produce,  ttnle&£  we  look  behind  them  at 
what  they  truly  mean.  I  -hall  not  detain  you  by  enlarging  upon  that  mean- 
ing. You  do  not  need  from  me  even  the  suggestion  that  these  millions  upon 
millions  of  bushels  of  the  staple  products  which  sustain  human  life,  har- 
d  in  a  -ingle  year  upon  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  square  miles. 
not  yet  den.-ely  populated  by  twenty-five  millions  of  people,  mean  human 
prosperity,  human  comfort,  human  freedom.  They  signify  and  demonstrate 
the  welfare  of  thousands,  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  peaceful  and  happy 
families.  They  mean  that  faithful  and  intelligent  labor  is  reaping  its  just 
reward,  under  equal  institutions;  that  more  and  more  are  being  thrown  off 
the  burdens  which  have  weighed  down  humanity  in  the  ages  that  are  pa-;. 
and  the  nobler  energies  of  the  soul  set  free  from  the  sordid  cares  and  anxie- 
ties which  attend  merely  physical  wants,  to  pursue  a  still  higher  flight  in  its 
immortal  career.  [Loud  applause.] 

May  I  ask  your  attention,  however,  gentlemen,  for  a  few  moments  to  s«  inn- 
thoughts  connected  more  immediately  with  the  objects  of  this  Convention. 
.May  I  a-k  you  to  consider  with  me,  retrospectively,  the  growth  of  the  public 
sentiment  which  finds  its  latest  expression  in  this  large  and  important  Con- 
vention.— the  largest  and  most  representative,  and.  as  we  have  every  reason 
to  hope,  likely  to  be  the  most  influential,  of  the  many  that  have  assembled. 
I  need  not  remind  you  that  this  is  by  no  means  the  first  inter-State  con- 
vention whieh  has  assembled  to  consider  this  great  subject.  For  more  than 
a  generation  past  such  bodies  have  met  at  various  points  in  the  great  Valley, 
and  during  the  la-t  few  years  with  increasing  frequency,  and.  if  possible, 
m<  <rv  and  more  pronounced  earnestness  of  purpose.  Along  the  whole  length 
of  the  great  river,  from  St.  Paul  on  the  north,  to  Xew  Orleans  on  the  south, 
such  assemblies  have  met  from  time  to  time,  representing  alike  the  productive 
and  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  interests  of  the  Valley,  to  take  into 
consideration  thi-  same  question  of  the  improvement  of  its  river  navigation 
and  cheaper  transportation  to  be  gained  thereby,  and  to  urge  upon  Congress 
the  prosecution  of  these  public  works,  which  have  been,  and  which  are.  and 
which  will  continue  to  be  rightfully  demanded,  until  due  and  regular  and 
permanent  provision  -hall  have  been  made  for  their  complete  execution  and 
their  permanent  maintenance.  [Applause.] 

There  was  recently  republi-hed  in  this  city  the  record  of  the  first  cou- 
pon of  this  character— the  first  inter-State  convention,  so  far  as  I  know, 
and  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  such— which  to  any  extent  consid- 
ered this  great  question.  It  ni'-t  in  the  <-jty  of  Memphis  .-,<  lung  ago  ftg  l^i:>. 
It  assembled  first  in  July  of  that  ;.  being  represented,  and  after 
organizing  and  doing  a  certain  amount  of  business,  it  adjourned  to  the  fol- 
lowing November.  On  it-  rc-a--embling  in  that  month,  twelve  State-  were 
•  •sented  by  some  five  hundred  deli-gates.  The  president  of  that  conven- 
tion Vfftt  no  less  distinguished  a  man  than  John  ( '.  ( 'alhoun.  of  South  Caro- 
lina. It  embraced,  among  other-,  thirty-live  delegates  from  Missouri;  and 
we  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that  one  of  those  delegate-  from  Missouri, 
and  \\\\»  w&t  the  memb.-r  from  ft  •!"  The  commit! >i\  nominations 


13 

appointed  by  that  convention,  sits  with  us  to-day  as  an  honored  member  of 
the  delegation  from  the  St.  Louis  Merchants'  Exchange. 

That  convention,  however,  was  not  called  exclusively,  or  even  chiefly, 
with  reference  to  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river.  It  considered 
many  subjects,  and  finally  adopted  eighteen  or  twenty  resolutions,  sixteen 
of  which  referred  to  various  matters  of  public  importance ;  some  of  them  to 
railroads,  some  to  arsenals,  some  to  docks,  some  to  coast  defenses,  and  four 
of  them  to  questions  relating  to  the  river  itself.  That  convention  is  memo- 
rable, as  it  seems  to  me,  for  two  things.  Its  utterances  were,  so  far  as  we 
know,  the  first  expression  publicly  made  with  reference  to  subjects  of  this 
character,  by  a  delegated  body,  including  men  of  national  reputation  from 
the  various  States  of  the  South  and  Southwest.  And  it  is  further  memora- 
ble from  the  fact  that  that  distinguished  man  and  eminent  statesman,  John 
C.  Calhoun,  whose  opinions  are  a  part  of  the  history  of  this  country,  dis- 
tinctly declared  before  that  body  that  the  political  views  which  he  enter- 
tained, as  we  all  know,  concerning  the  functions  of  the  General  Government, 
did  not  interfere  in  his  opinion  with  the  right  of  those  there  assembled  to 
call  upon  that  Government  to  contribute  to  and  take  charge  of  the  improve- 
ment of  what  he  felicitously  styled  our  "Inland  Sea.''  [Loud  applause.] 

Two  years  later  another  convention  assembled,  also  famous  in  its  day. — 
the  great  river  and  harbor  convention  held  in  Chicago  in  July,  1847.  At 
this  convention  were  also  present  many  men  who  were  then,  or  afterwards 
became,  of  national  reputation.  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Charles  Hempstead, 
of  Illinois ;  Thomas  Corwin  and  Robert  C.  Schenck,  of  Ohio ;  Horace  Greeley , 
David  Dudley  Field  and  John  C.  Spencer,  of  Xew  York;  Andrew  Stewart,  of 
Pennsylvania ;  and  Thomas  Butler  King,  of  Georgia, — these  men  were  among 
the  members  of  that  convention ;  and  among  the  letters  received  favoring 
its  objects — objects  indicated  by  the  name  bestowed  upon  it — were  letters 
from  Henry  Clay  and  Silas  Wright.  May  I  be  permitted  to  add  that  that 
convention  had  for  its  presiding  officer  one  whose  spotless  life  as  well  as  his 
silvery  eloquence  is  still  remembered  with  affection  and  honor  in  this  State. 
It  is  said  that  of  all  the  eloquent  words  spoken  there  none  created  greater 
enthusiasm  than  the  brilliant  closing  address  of  its  president,  Edward  Bates, 
of  Missouri.  [Loud  applause.] 

Four  years  later, — and  I  shall  refer  particularly  to  only  two  other  con- 
ventions, for  reasons  which  I  shall  mention  presently, — four  years  later, 
thirty  years  ago  this  month,  it  was  my  privilege,  as  one  of  the  youngest 
members  of  a  numerous  delegation  from  this  city,  to  attend  a  very  large 
convention  held  at  Burlington,  Iowa,  which  was  called  for  the  special 
purpose  of  advocating  the  improvement  by  the  General  Government  of  wThat 
were  then  and  are  still  known  as  the  Rock  Island,  or  Upper,  and  the  Des 
Moines,  or  Lower,  Rapids  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Many  States  were  rep- 
resented there  also,  and  resolutions  were  passed  earnestly  calling  Congress 
to  make  this  important  improvement.  Up  to  that  time  nothing  had  been 
done  with  reference  to  them  except  that  up  to  1837  those  Rapids  had  been 
more  than  once  surveyed  under  the  orders  of  the  War  Department,  and  one 


14 

of  those  survey-  \\  a-  made  by  Lieutenant  Robert  E.  Lee,  of  the  engineer 
corps.  Fifteen  years  passed  before  anything  more  was  done  with  reference 
to  that  subject. 

In  1866  another  convention  assembled  at  Dubuque,  also  held  for  the 
special  purpose  of  considering  the  improvement  of  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Eapids  of  the  Mississippi.  The  City  of  St.  Louis  was  represented  in  that 
Convention  also.  Five  hundred  delegates  were  there  in  attendance,  includ- 
ing a  large  number  of  the  members  of  the  Iowa  Legislature;  and  the 
chairman  of  our  St.  Louis  delegation  to-day — who  is  a  veteran  in  this 
service — was  called  to  preside  over  its  deliberations.  Strong  resolutions  were 
passed  by  that  body  urging  Congress  to  make  the  improvements  in  question. 
In  1867  another  convention  was  held  in  the  City  of  St.  Louis,  also  with 
special  reference  to  the  improvement  of  these  same  Rapids.  At  that  con- 
vention twelve  States  were  represented,  over  four  hundred  delegates  being 
in  attendance ;  and  there  were  passed  not  only  resolutions  in  favor  of  the 
particular  improvement  in  question,  but  other  resolutions  also,  by  which  was 
invoked  earnest  and  immediate  action  by  Congress  for  the  improvement  of 
the  Mississippi  river  from  the  Balize  to  St.  Paul,  and  of  the  Ohio  river,  and 
the  works  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio ;  the  resolutions  also  commending  to  the 
earnest  and  favorable  action  of  Congress  the  improvement  of  the  other  great 
affluents  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

I  have  particularly  alluded  to  these  conventions,  for  two  reasons :  first, 
because  it  is  pleasant  for  us  to  remember  that  from  the  beginning  the 
merchants  of  St.  Louis  and  the  citizens  of  Missouri  have  not  been  backward 
in  their  earnest  efforts  to  promote  improvements  of  this  kind, — not  only  those 
which  they  themselves  desired,  but  those  also  which  were  or  might  be  bene- 
ficial  to  their  brethren  in  whatever  part  of  the  Valley ;  and  secondly,  because 
as  a  result  no  doubt  a  part  of  these  strong  expressions  of  public  sentiment, — 
certainly  as  a  result  in  part  of  the  holding  of  the  later  conventions  which  I 
have  mentioned, — we  know  now  that  not  only  the  improvement  of  the  Lower 
Rapids  by  a  canal  which  is  in  constant  and  successful  use  during  the  period 
of  navigation,  but  also  the  deepening  of  the  Upper  Rapids,  at  an  expense  for 
them  both  of  several  millions  of  dollars  to  the  General  Government,  have 
passed  into  the  region  of  accomplished  facts.  Certainly  we  have  reason  to 
look  with  satisfaction  upon  these  natural  and  legitimate  results  of  such  ex- 
pressions of  public  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  people  for  whose  immediate 
benefit  these  work-  W.TC  planned. — the  people  who  pay  so  large  a  part  of  the 
taxes  which  furnish  the  means  of  constructing  them,  and  who  have  the  right 
to  demand  that  they  shall  be  constructed.  [Loud  applause.] 

The  list  of  similar  conventions  held  since  the  date  last  given,  I  shall 
briefly  glance  at,  and  simply  in  order  to  recall  to  our  minds  that  this  assem- 
blage doe-  not  -prin<£  from  a  new  or  crude  public  opinion.  Tin- fart  that 
many  such  conventions  have  been  held  is  familiar  to  us  all;  but  I  doubt 
whether  we  all  reali/e.  unless  we  stop  to  think  of  ir,  what  a  steady  and 
powerful  and  constantly  increasing  current  of  public  sentiment  they  repre- 
sent. And  of  this  let  them  take  heed  whom  it  concerns. 


15 

In  Keokiik,  in  1867,  another  convention  was  held,  also  having  special 
reference  to  the  improvement  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Kapids.  Other  con- 
ventions have  been  held  with  reference  to  the  same  general  subject,  as 
many  of  you  know,  and  in  which  many  of  you  have  taken  active  part, — 
for  I  am  merely  reminding  men  of  larger  experience  and  far  more  practical 
knowledge  than  myself  of  these  facts, — in  Xew  Orleans  in  1869,  in  1875,  in 
1876,  in  1879,  and  1880;  at  St.  Louis  in  1872.  and  again  in  1873,  when  there 
was  a  very  important  conference  of  Congressmen  held  here  pursuant  to  an  in- 
vitation issued  by  the  St.  Louis  Merchants'  Exchange  to  all  the  then  members 
of  Congress.  That  assemblage  was  a  conference  rather  than  a  convention, 
and  was  intended  especially  to  furnish  information  to  the  gentlemen  thus 
invited,  and  impress  upon  them  the  importance  of  the  subject.  Its  proceed- 
ings were  published  by  the  St.  Louis  Merchants'  Exchange,  and  contain  a 
great  mass  of  valuable  information. 

There  was  also  a  similar  convention  held  at  Vicksburg  in  1875.  another 
at  St.  Paul  in  1877. — possibly  that  was  in  1878, — another  at  Quincy  in  1879, 
and  another  at  Davenport  in  1881.  Some  of  these  conventions  were  called 
with  special  reference  to  improvements  of  what  may  be  termed  a  local 
character,  but  in  every  one  of  them  the  idea  of  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river  was  necessarily  the  key-note  of  their  action,  for  the  great 
value  of  these  local  improvements  depends  upon  the  existence  of  that 
greatest  of  all  water-ways. 

I  say  nothing  of  other  conventions  which  have  been  held  at  other  points 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  whose  composition  and  whose  purposes 
were  not,  strictly  speaking,  of  an  inter-State  character.  They  have  been 
numerous  and  influential,  and  if  I  omit  to  mention  them  here,  it  is  not  in 
the  least  that  I  undervalue  their  importance,  but  because  they  do  not  belong 
to  the  class  of  inter-State  conventions  of  which  I  speak. 

As  the  result  of  these  successive  conventions,  representing,  if  you 
please,  the  stream  of  public  sentiment  continually  growing, — and  you  will 
observe  the  coincidence  of  their  dates  with  the  assembling  of  successive 
Congresses, — besides  these,  and,  as  it  were,  like  the  growth  of  shrubbery, 
herbage  and  trees  on  the  banks  of  the  mighty  stream  itself,  there  has  been 
growing  up  quite  as  steadily  as  those  trees,  grass  and  shrubbery  have  grown 
up,  a  literature  relating  to  the  improvement  of  the  rivers,  which  is  itself 
exceedingly  interesting  and  of  great  importance. — for  in  that  literature  are 
recorded  the  successive  steps  of  the  growth  of  this  great  valley. 

Another  and  important  result  of  these  conventions  has  been  the  ap- 
pointment, as  many  of  you  know,  within  two  or  three  years  past,  of  an 
"  Inter-State  Commission"  of  which  Judge  Underwood,  of  Louisville,  was 
made  the  President.  An  address  issued  by  this  body  to  the  Governors  of 
the  various  States  interested  in  its  objects,  was  responded  to  by  the  Gover- 
nors of  fourteen  of  those  States,  who  appointed  in  all  thirty-six  members  of 
that  Commission :  and  the  address  issued  by  that  Commission  is  another  of 
these  documents  full  of  interesting  facts  and  statistics,  and  weighty  argu- 
ments based  upon  them. 


16 

Now.  during  the  last  fifteen  years  other  important  events  have  also  con- 
tributed to  the  growth  of  this  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  improvement 
of  our  great  rivers  by  the  General  Government.  Especially  since  the  close 
of  the  civil  war,  thousands  of  miles  of  railway  have  been  built,  not  only 
trans-continental,  but  within  and  connecting  the  various  Western  States ; 
and  to  the  building  of  these  railways  the  General  Government  has  made 
enormous  contributions  in  money  and  in  land.  We  do  not  complain  of  this; 
but  we  do  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Government  aid  thus  given  in 
land  and  bonds  and  money  actually  advanced,  running  up  into  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars,  has  far  exceeded  all  that  has  ever  been  asked  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries. 

The  result  of  this  railroad  building,  and  one  of  the  conditions  of  the 
development  of  the  West,  was  the  constant  extension  westward  of  the 
frontier  line  of  settlement  and  civilization.  From  year  to  year  that  line 
has  moved  towards  the  setting  sun  as  the  shadow  moves  on  the  face  of  a  dial, 
hour  by  hour, — only  that  instead  of  recording  the  hours  it  recorded  degrees 
of  longitude,  and  instead  of  noting  the  passage  of  time,  it  has  marked  the 
reclamation  of  the  wilderness,  the  redemption  of  a  new  empire  from  bar- 
barism by  civilization.  But  what  was  the  result  of  this  sublime  movement, 
this  ever-advancing  wave  of  civilization?  It  differed  from  the  onward 
inarch  of  Attila's  hosts  as  the  rush  of  a  tidal  wave  differs  from  the  inun- 
dation of  the  Nile, — the  one  submerging  to  destroy;  the  other  peacefully 
overflowing  that  it  may  fertilize. 

One  result  of  this  extension  of  the  cultivated  area  of  the  West  was  that 
it  pushed  further  from  the  river,  further  from  a  market,  the  area  of  cheap  cul- 
tivation, — not  only  of  lands  entered  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre,  but  of 
homesteads  occupied  and  settlements  rapidly  springing  up  without  any  cost 
except  for  the  labor  which  made  them  habitable.  There  was  attracted  to  these 
newjands  a  large  part  not  only  of  the  yearly  immigration  from  foreign  shores, 
but  also  of  that  restless  and  most  valuable  element  of  the  young  blood  of  our 
own  country,  which  is  constantly  pushing  forward  in  advance  of  the  older 
members  of  civilization  and  society,  subduing  the  wilderness  and  preparing 
the  desert  and  the  prairie  to  blosson  like  the  rose.  [Loud  applause.] 

The  ipevitable  result  was  that  the  ever  new  settlers  constantly  found 
themselves  farther  and  farther  from  the  markets  of  the  world.  Another 
result  was  that  the  very  development  of  these  new  lands  actually  added  to 
the  burden  of  which  the  dwell. T>  on  the  river  complained,  for  the  produc- 
tion thus  increased  could  not  be  accommodated  with  transportation.  Un- 
doubtedly the  railroads  have  endeavored  to  meet  with  ad< -quaie  facilities 
thi-  new  burden.  But  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things  for;rail  roads  to  supply 
for  the  staple  products  of  an  agricultural  country,  destined  to  distant  mar- 
kets, the  cheap  transportation  whieh  their  profitable  production  demands. 
And  thus  it  is — as  the  call  for  this  Convention  truly  asserts— that  the  ques- 
tion of  cheap  transportation,  the  question  of  the  rate  of  freight  for  agri- 
cultural products,  is  a  vital  one.  If  I  had  the  time,  or  it  were  appropriate 
for  me  to  go  into  it,  there  are  fads  and  figures  at  hand  of  the  highest  interest, 


17 

relating  to  this  question.  But  I  shall  not  weary  you  at  this  moment  with  any 
details  on  that  subject.  I  only  ask  you  to  consider  the  cardinal  facts  at 
different  and  successive  periods  in  regard  to  this  question  of  comparative 
freights. 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  Congressional  Conference  held  at  St.  Louis  in 
1873.  already  mentioned,  I  find  a  statement  made  by  the  late  Hon.  Henry  T. 
Blow — formerly  a  member  of  Congress  from  this  city,  and  whose  energy 
and  public  spirit  are  well  remembered  here — to  the  effect  that  the  cost  of 
transportation  by  rail  at  that  time  was  thirteen  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  while 
by  river  it  was  three  and  a  half  mills  per  ton  per  mile.  That  single  com- 
parison throws  a  flood  of  light  on  the  question  of  the  wants  of  this  ever- 
increasing  area  of  cultivation,  and  the  comparative  value  to  its  inhabitants 
of  rail  and  river  transportation  for  their  staple  products. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  still  later  statements  of  the  rates  of  freight, 
and  see  how  the  increasing  demands  of  commerce,  even  with  only  crippled 
rivers  to  respond  to  them,  have  pressed  down  the  freight  rates  since  then. 
In  a  valuable  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Cincinnati  for  the 
year  ending  in  March  last,  the  statement  is  made,  in  a  very  able  Report  on 
Internal  Commerce  and  Navigation,  that  the  cost  of  transportation  on  rivers 
is  now  only  one  mill  per  ton  per  mile,  and  that  this  is  but  one -tenth  of  the 
cost  of  the  tonnage  movement  by  rail  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Thus 
in  eight  years,  according  to  this  statement,  based  on  official  data,  the  rate  of 
freight  has  fallen  from  three  and  a  half  mills  to  one  mill  per  ton  per  mile  for 
the  river,  and  from  thirteen  mills  to  ten  mills,  or  one  cent  per  ton  per  mile, 
for  railroads.  I  am  informed  by  those  familiar  with  the  subject,  that  the 
rate  per  ton  per  mile  by  rail,  under  circumstances  favoring  the  shipper,  has 
been  reduced  to  eight  mills  or  even  to  seven. 

Xow,  gentlemen,  if  that  downward  movement  of  freight  has  thus 
already  been  going  on  and  can  be  accelerated  by  the  improvement  of  the 
river,  both  in  respect  of  freight  rates  on  the  river  itself,  and  rates  on  the 
railroads  under  competition  of  the  river, — as  we  well  know  that  it  can  be. 
and  that  is  why  you  are  here  to-day. — it  would  be  a  simple  matter  to  make 
a  calculation  on  the  figures  already  before  us,  which  should  show  in  dol- 
lars and  cents  the  ultimate  benefit  of  such  improvements,  not  only  to  the 
people  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  but  to  the  nation  at  large — yes,  to  the  con- 
sumers of  the  world.  The  official  statistics  already  referred  to  show  that 
the-  production  of  Indian  corn  by  the  fourteen  Valley  States  in  1879  was 
more  than  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  million  (1,250,000,000)  bushels;  that 
their  production  of  wheat  in  the  same  year  was  very  nearly  three  hundred 
million  (300,000.000)  bushels,  and  of  oats,  not  less  than  two  hundred  and 
twenty  million  (220,000,000)  bushels,— say  eighteen  hundred  million  (1.800.- 
000,000)  bushels  in  these  three  staples.  Xow,  if  by  removing  from  the  Missis- 
sippi river  and  its  great  tributaries  the  existing  impediments  to  navigation, — 
sand-bars,  snags,  treacherous  banks  and  the  like,— it  is  made  practicable  and 
profitable,  now  that  the  Jetties  have  opened  the  port  of  Xew  Orleans  to  the 
largest  steamships,  to  send  only  one-half  of  that  eighteen  hundred  million 

2 


18 

(l.SOO.OOO.OOO)  bushels  to  the  market-  of  the  world  by  way  of  the  river 
in-tead  »>f  by  rail,  with  the  consequent  reduction  in  the  actual  cost  of  traus- 
]M. nation  which  is  represented  by  the  difference  between  river  transportation 
and  transportation  by  rail  per  ton  per  mile,  already  mentioned, — how  many 
millions  of  dollars  would  represent  the  actual  gain,  by  means  of  this  cheaper 
transportation,  to  the  producer  and  the  consumer  bothy  Yon  can  figure  it 
out  for  yourselves. 

And  yet,  gentlemen,  we  are  to-day  holding  this  Convention  for  the 
purpose  of  imploring — no,  of  demanding — of  Congress  that  these  improve- 
ment- <hall  be  made.  Although  the  stream  of  public  sentiment  began  to 
How  in  this  channel  more  than  a  generation  ago:  although  the  numerous 
conventions  already  mentioned  show  that  its  volume  has  been  increasing 
from  year  to  year  throughout  the  whole  length  of  this  valley:  although  the 
demands  of  the  farmer,  of  the  manufacturer,  and  of  the  carrier  by  river,  have 
become  more  and  more  pressing  from  year  to  year, — yet  to-day  we  art- 
holding  one  of  the  largest  and  probably  the  most  important  Convention  ever 
yet  held  with  reference  to  this  subject,  and  the  people  of  this  whole  valley 
are  to-day  feeling  a  deeper  and  stronger  anxiety  for  the  success  of  this  effort 
than  ever  before.  Why  should  this  state  of  facts  exist?  Why  should  we  be 
still  endeavoring  to  concentrate  our  forces  to  bring  about  that  result? 

There  seem  to  have  existed,  during  all  these  years,  perhaps  three  chief 
ob-taeies  in  the  way  of  the  rapid  development  of  cheap  transportation  on 
the  We-tern  rivers.  One  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  imperfection  of  the 
m. -an-  of  transportation  themselves, — I  mean  the  steamboats  and  their 
machinery,  which  were  in  vogue  many  years  ago.  Another,  obviously,  is 
found  in  the  condition  of  the  rivers  themselves,— in  the  difficulties  and 
impediment-  to  navigation  which  we  are  asking  the  Government  to  remove. 
The  third — and  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  it  seems  to  me  to  be  the  one  to  which 
the  attention  of  this  Convention  needs  to  be  most  seriously  directed — has 
been  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the  West,  at  least  until  within 
the  la-;  two  or  three  years,  to  so  direct  and  wisely  concentrate  their  effort  - 
a-  to  secure  the  results  to  which,  as  members  of  this  great  nation,  they  are 
ju-tly  entitled. 

As  to  the  first  of  these  difficulties — the  early  imperfection-  of  steamboat- 
and  their  machinery— the  characterj-tir  ingenuity  and  energy  of  our  people 
have  steadily  le—.-ned  them.  .May  I  give  one  illustration  of  this?  It  was  in 
LSI 5,  I  believe,  ill  it  the  first  steamboat  began  to  navigate  the  .Mississippi 
river.  In  IH'.i.  a-  we  learn  from  a  very  intere-ting  address  read  last  year 
by  Mr.  Overstolz,  late  mayor  of  this  city,  before  the  Mi>s«>uri  Immigration 
Society,  the  first  through  steamboat  came  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis, 
carrying  !:',<)  tons  of  cargo,  and  puffing  its  weary  \\ay  through  these  same 
tortiiou-  and  dilfieiilt  channel-  during  a  period  of  ticenty-seven  days.  To-day 
our  -plendid  steamers  of  2,000  ton-  burden  ply  l.etw.-en  New  Orleans  and 
St.  I.-.ui-  in  -i.\  and  seven  day-.  And  when  we  remember  that  in  ls;?7  the 
lir-t  ocean  steamers,  the  Great  Western  and  Sinus,  carrying  l.:><)0  ton-. 
QTOtMd  the  Atlantic  in  twelve  day-,  and  that  to-day  the  lim-t  ocean  steamer 


19 

has  not  yet  exceeded  6,000  tons  capacity,  and  its  time  of  passage  is  not  yet 
reduced  to  one-half  of  what  it  was  forty  years  ago,  the  comparison  is 
certainly  not  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Western  steamboat  men.  The  im- 
perfection of  steamboats  and  their  machinery,  therefore,  does  not  explain 
the  relatively  backward  condition  of  our  internal  river  commerce. 

The  second  obstacle  which  I  mentioned — the  impediments  to  navigation 
in  the  rivers  themselves — I  need  not  dwell  upon.  It  is  the  fact  of  their 
existence  and  the  possibility  of  their  removal  which  brings  you  here.  I  do 
not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  Mississippi  river 'and  its  tributaries  are  not  in 
this  respect  the  same  rivers  that  they  were.  I  do  notforget  that  to  a  certain 
extent  the  Government  has  improved  them.  Allusion  has  already  been 
made  to  some  important  work  that  has  been  accomplished.  I  believe, 
however,  that  I  am  'correct  in  saying  that  the  first  expenditure  of  public- 
money  in  any  improvement  for  the  Mississippi  river  proper, — I  do  not  speak 
of  Western  harbor  improvements,  for  they  are  very  few. — the  first  expendi- 
ture of  public  money  for  that  purpose  was  made  after  the  war.  Even  this 
expenditure  has  been  made  only  here  and  there,  and  until  a  very  recent 
period  not,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  on  any  general  and  systematic  plan. 

Why  is  this  so?  Is  it  because  our  public  men,  especially  of  late  years. 
have  opposed  such  improvements?  I  think  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  public 
man  that  has  undertaken  openly  to  do  so,  or  that  has  venturedjto  avow  any 
such  purpose  even  if  he  had  it.  We  have  already  seen  that  thirty-six  years 
ago  Mr.  Calhoun  laid  the  foundation  for  such  public  works  as  these  by  a 
declaration  which  removed  them  at  once  fromjthe  sphere  of  political  con- 
troversies. We  know  that  distinguished  statesmen  of  all  political  parties 
have  borne  willing  tribute  to  the  importance  of  this  work,  not  to  this  valley 
alone,  but  to  the  nation.  I  need  not  remind  you  of  those  earnest  and 
eloquent  words  with  which  the  late  President,  in  his  letter  accepting  the 
nomination  for  that  high  office,  signified  his  sense  of  the  national  importance 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  declared  that  Congress  ought  to  prevent  it  from 
being  any  longer  a  terror  to  those  who.  dwell  upon  its  banks.  I  need  not 
remind  you  that  the  present  incumbent  of  the  same  office,  in  his  letter 
accepting  his  nomination  for  Vice-President,  declared  in  emphatic  terms 
that  the  Government  ought  to  aid  works  of  internal  improvement  national 
in  their  character.  Why  is  it,  then. — the  question  still  recurs. — why  is  it  that 
a  Convention  like  this  has  still  to  be  held?  I  think,  gentlemen,  that  we  must 
look  to  the  third  of  these  obstacles  which  I  venture  to  suggest,  for  the  true 
explanation. — namely,  the  failure  of  those  most  interestedjin  this  great  work 
to  wisely '  direct  and  effectively  concentrate  theirjown  efforts.  And  I 
respectfully  submit  to  you  whether  it  is  not  in  that  direction  that  the 
energies  of  this  assemblage  can  be  most  wisely  put  forth. 

The  most  recent  history  of  this  movement  I  k  think  tends  to  confirm  thN 
view,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  assurance  that  this  question  will  not  be 
asked,  that  this  explanation  will  not  continue  to  be  true,  much  longer. 

In  1879.  as  you  are  aware,  there  was  introduced  in  Congress  by  Mr. 
Randall  M.  Gibson,  of  Louisiana,  a  bill  for  the  appointment  of  a  Mississippi 


20 

River  Commission.  That  bill,  chunked  in  no  material  respect  from  its  form 
a-  introduced  by  him  except  that  the  number  of  persons  to  compose  the 
Commission  was  increased  in  the  Senate  from  five  to  seven,  became  a  law  on 
June  29th,  1879,  under  the  title  of  u  An  Act  to  provide  for  the  appointment 
of  a  Mississippi  River  Commission,  for  the  improvement  of  said  river  from 
the  Head  of  the  Passes,  near  the  mouth,  to  its  headwaters/'  The  President 
appointed  as  members  of  this  Commission,  in  pursuance  of  the  act.  General 
o.  A.  Gilmore,  General  C.  B.  Comstock,  Major  Charles  R.  Suter,  Henry 
Mitchell.  B.  M.  Harrod,  James  B.  Eads,  and  Benjamin  Harrison;  three  of 
them  being  army  engineers,  one  a  civil  engineer,  two  connected  with  the 
coast  and  geodetic  survey,  and  one  a  civilian,  and  all  of  them  gentlemen  of 
high  repute.  That  Commission  promptly  set  about  its  work.  It  made  one 
report  in  February,  1880,  and  a  second  and  more  elaborate  one  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1881.  It  is  not  my  province  to  speak  of  what  these  reports  contained, 
nor  of  the  work  and  recommendations  of  that  Commission,  in  detail.  I  am 
happy  to  say  that  during  your  deliberations  a  letter  from  the  President  of 
the  Commission  will  be  laid  before  you,  and  you  will  further  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  hearing  from  one  of  its  members  in  person.  What  I  now  call  your 
attention  to, — and  I  think  the  statement  is  both  true  and  important, — is  that 
the  passage  of  that  bill  signalized  the  first  effective  concentration  of  effort, 
or  rather,  that  it  gave  evidence  of  concentrated  effort  towards  the  first  dis- 
tinct, scientific  and  systematic  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the  great  river 
which  has  yet  been  made;  and  the  improvement  of  that  river  necessarily 
includes  in  due  time  the  improvement  of  all  its  navigable  tributaries. 

In  the  same  year.  1*711.  was  realized  the  triumph  of  that  engineering 
work,  of  which  as  American- we  are  proud,  and  for  which,  as  business  men,  I 
know  that  you  are  grateful.  I  speak  of  the  successful  completion  of  the  Jetties 
and  the  consequent  opening  of  the  port  of  New  Orleans  to  steamers  of  the 
large-. i  -i/.e.  [Loud  applause.]  It  was  something  more  than  a  coincidence, 
that  the  same  year  was  made  memorable  by  these  two  great  events. — the 
actual  removal  of  those  obstructions  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  with  which 
by  other  methods  the  Government  had  so  long  contended  in  vain,  and  the 
provision  by  Act  of  Congress  for  the  comprehensive,  practical  and  scientific 
consideration,  by  men  who  were  not  only  experts,  but  experts  of  the  highest 
character,  of  what  ought  to  be  done  towards  removing  by  systematic  and 
permanent  methods  the  impediments  to  navigation  which  -till  remain. 

In  connection  with  the  Jetties  may  I  ask  your  indulgence  while  I  call 
voiir  attention  to  two  statement- made  at  different  times  concerning  the  con- 
dition of  the  river  below  New  Orleans,  one  of  them  made  before  the  jetties 
were  proposed,  and  the  other  after  their  success  had  been  demonstrated.  I 
desire  the  more  to  do  so,  because  of  statements  which  have  been  occasion- 
ally made  even  within  the  last  year.  d«»ul»tl«->s  under  some  strange  misap- 
prehension of  the  fart*,  and  which  make  the  contrast  I  \\i-h  to  draw  the 
more  timely  and  impressive. 

I  read  from  the  proceeding-  «»f  that  Congressional  Conference  held  at  St. 
Louis  in  1873.  the  following  extract  from  an  address  to  the  members  of 
Congress  there  assembled,  made  by  .Judge  Kennard,  of  New  Orleans : 


21 

••  If  you  could  £0  with  us  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  we  would 
show  you  such  evidence  as  would  remove  the  last  doubt  from  the  last 
Thomas  among  you.  Only  ten  days  ago.  in  making  a  critical  survey  of  that 
locality.  I  found,  when  we  arrived' at  the  mouth  of  the  South  west  Pass,  there 
were  lying  [that  is.  either  aground  or  afraid  to  get  aground]  thirty  odd  of  the 
largest  class  of  ships,  representative  of  almost  every  country 'in  Europe. 
among  which  were  rive  or  six  fine  steamers." 

Xow,  let  me  read  you  a  few  lines  from  a  valuable  pamphlet  recently 
published  by  Mr.  Alexander  D.  Anderson,  of  Washington  City,  entitled 
"  The  Mississippi  River  and  its  Tributaries."  in  which,  among  other  things, 
he  discusses  the  effect  of  the  Jetties  immediately  after  their  completion: 

••Another  illustration  of  the  effect  of  these  improvements  is  the  record  of 
the  exports  of  a  single  day  during  the  past  year.  viz. :  "December  20. 1879. 
a  Xew  Orleans  paper  (the  Picayune*  of  December  21.  1879)  describes  it  as 
follows  :  •  Yesterday  a  fleet  of  fifteen  vessels  cleared  at  the  custom- 
house with  full  cargoes.  This  fleet  embraced  eight  steamships,  two  ships, 
four  barques  and  one  schooner;  seven  of  them  were  for  Liverpool,  three  for 
Havre,  and  one  each  for  Xe\v  York.  Bremen.  Malaga.  Ruatan.  and  Pensa- 
cola.  The  cargoes  of  this  fleet  form  the  largest  exports  that  ever  passed 
through  our  custom-house  in  one  day.'  " 

The  newspaper  goes  on  to  give  the  details  of  these  cargoes,  from  which 
it  appears  that  they  included  46.300  bales  of  cotton,  40.000  bushels  of  wheat. 
45,579  bushels  of  corn,  and  a  variety  of  other  merchandise:  of  which  the 
cotton  alone  was  worth  $2.550.000,  and  the  total  about  $3,000.000.  [Loud 
applause.] 

And  in  the  same  connection  Mr.  Anderson  quotes  the  following  from  a 
communication  to  him  from  the  Secretary  of  the  St.  Louis  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, under  date  of  December  29.  1879 : 

'•The  Jetties  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  have  lessened  the  rates  of  freight 
by  that  route  and  by  the  East.  The  shipments  of  bulk  grain  this  year  from 
St.  Louis  by  river  to  Xew  Orleans,  have  been  six  million  bushels' of  grain. 
and  would  have  been  three  million  more  had  there  been  a  good  stage  of 
water." 

Within  a  few  days  past  there  has  been  published  in  this  city  an  official 
statement  or  report  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  St.  Louis  Merchants' 
Exchange,  for  the  express  purpose  of  ascertaining  and  reporting  the  facts 
concerning  the  passage  of  ships  through  these  Jetties.  In  that  report  a  list 
is  given  by  name  of  ten  steamers,  each  of  which  had  a  draught  of  twenty-four 
feet  and  upwards,  every  one  of  which  steamers  has  passed  up  that  channel — 
and  it  was  up  the  South  Pass,  formerly  impracticable  for  commerce,  but 
which  the  Jetties  have  substituted  for  the  Southwest  Pass  -without  let  or 
hindrance,  in  the  two  years  since  the  Jetties  were  opened. 

These  facts  are  no  doubt  familiar  to  you  all ;  yet  I  hope  you  will  have 
pardoned  me  for  detaining  you  by  their  statement,  because  the}*  all  tend  to 
•illustrate  the  subject  which  I  have  desired  to  bring  before  you — the  source 
and  meaning  of  that  public  sentiment  which  you  have  assembled  once  more 
to  express  to-day,  the  results  which  it  has  so  far  accomplished,  and  the  con- 


22 

ditions  upon  which  it  may  hope  for  complete  success;  and  because  they 
throw  light  upon  the  significance  and  value  of  this  latest  effort,  whose  im- 
portant fruit  was  the  creation  of  the  Mississippi  River  Commission. 

The  history  and  debates  of  the  conventions  which  have  preceded  you. 
teaeh  the  same  lesson.  The  President  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange,  in  call- 
ing you  together  to-day,  lias  already  alluded  to  what  has  been  said  in  those 
debates  by  other  gentlemen,  standing,  as  you  stand  to-day,  in  the  attitude 
of  deliberation  on  this  great  subject,  as  to  the  best  means  of  giving  effect  to 
that  public  sentiment.  Again  and  again  the  question  has  been  asked,  not 
only  what  were  the  difficulties  and  hindrances  which  have  impeded  its  right- 
ful operation,  but  whether  the  greatest  hindrance  of  all  has  not  been  the  error 
on  our  own  part  of  scattering,  if  not  dividing,  forces?  Would  it  not  have  been 
better — were  it  not  better  now — to  concentrate  our  energies  upon  the  demand 
for  the  systematic  improvement,  first  of  all,  of  the  great  river  itself,  as  the 
most  natural  and  effective  -step  towards  securing  all  the  rest?  Again  and 
again,  as  the  proceedings  and  debates  of  those  conventions  bear  witne--. 
this  danger,  this  hindrance  has  been  pointed  out.  Has  not  the  time  come 
when,  through  our  united  efforts,  it  shall  cease  to  exist? 

Gentlemen,  this  great  river  itself  seems,  in  its  source  and  origin,  and  in 
the  movement  of  its  great  waters  to  the  Gulf,  to  furnish  a  striking  symbol. 
an  instructive  lesson,  which  the  members  of  this  body  may  profitably  con- 
sider. 

You  are  gathered  here  from  all  quarters  of  this  great  valley.  From 
every  direction ;  some  of  you  from  great  distances ;  you  have  come  in  larger 
or  smaller  delegations,  representing  the  sentiment,  the  experience,  the 
interest  and  demands  of  many  different  communities, — prosperous  cities, 
thriving  towns  and  villages,  vast  areas  of  agricultural  lands,  marvelous  for 
fertility  and  steadily  increasing  in  production,  whose  industry  and  prosperity 
constitute  the  life  of  many  great  and  populous  States.  So  this  great  river. 
whose  turbid  waters,  gathered  into  one  mighty  current,  How  by  this  city 
with  majestic  and  ever-increasing  volume  in  their  progress  to  the  Gulf, — 
does  it  not  in  like  manner  represent  the  confluence  of  many  lesser  stream-. 
impelled  by  the  my-terious  energies  of  Nature,  to  unite  inseekinga  common 
outlet?  Its  remote-t  -oim-e-  are  found  in  innumerable  rills  and  sparkling 
brooks,  over  any  one  of  which  a  boy  might  leap,  but  from  whose  union  are 
formed,  a  thousand  mik-  to  the  north  of  it-,  tho-e  far-off  headwaters  which 
we  rail  I  lie  I'pper  M  i--i— i  1 1]  >i ;  and  again,  three  thousand  miles  to  the  north- 
west, those  headwaters  which  we  call  the  Upper  Missouri;  and  again, 
almo-t  a  thousand  mik-  nearer  the  Atlantic,  the  headwater- <>f  the  Ohio; 
and  to  these  streams  come  continually  new  accessions  from  every  portion  of 
theimmen-e  and  variou-  region  which  they  drain,  until  all  unite  to  form  the 
va-t  and  resistless  flood  of  the  Lower  Mi--i--ippi.  And  vet  we  know  that 
thi-  va-t  flood,  resistless  as  it  i-.  ha-  a  peeidiar  movement  and  history  <>\  it- 
own.  Tho-e  who  know  it  be-t  tell  n-  that  when  the  volume  of  its  water-  !•» 
the  greatr.-t.  when  it  ran  IK.  longer  lie  enntined  within  it-  bank-,  and  spread^ 
for  mile-  on  either  -ide.  wandering  here  and  there,  a-  it  \\ere.  in  its  inip.i- 


23 

tienee  to  reach  its  destination,  its  current  becomes  less  powerful,  its  progress 

!«•>>  rapid,  its  work  less  beneficent.  Its  sluggish  waters,  too  widely  dis- 
persed, lose  their  grasp  upon  the  enormous  burden  of  soil  and  sediment 
\vhieh  the  swift  current  has  brought  down  from  hundreds  of  miles  above, 
and  by  the  deposit  of  which  ne\v  obstructions  now  begin  to  be  formed. — new 
barriers  to  its  own  progress,  new  impediments  to  its  navigation. 

But  they  tell  us  also  that  whenever  its  waters  are  prevented  from  thus 
wasting  their  strength  by  diffusion, — whenever  they  are  confined  within  a 
narrower  channel,  either  by  the  ingenuity  of  man  or  by  the  steadfast  resistance 
of  their  natural  banks, — then,  even  though  the  volume  of  the  flood  be  less, 
its  energies  are  concentrated,  the  swiftness  and  momentum  of  the  current 
rapidly  increase,  and.  gathering  itself  together  for  the  mighty  task,  it 
-rotirs  and  sweeps  from  its  rapidly  deepening  channel  every  hidden  obstacle 
and  impediment,  and  moves  on  triumphantly  to  the  Gulf.  It  was  by  thus 
enlisting  and  concentrating  the  vast  physical  forces  of  Nature  herself  that 
that  great  triumph  of  the  Jetties  was  achieved.  Does  not  the  same  law  con- 
trol the  moral  forces  of  public  opinion  under  this  Government  of  ours? 
Shall  we  not  find  in  this  the  secret  of  our  complete  success?  [Loud  ap- 
plause.] 

I  have  detained  you  too  long,  gentlemen.  My  office  has  been  a  grate- 
ful one, — to  offer  you  a  hearty  welcome  from  the  Merchants'  Exchange 
<>f  >t.  Louis  and  the  citizens  of  this  city.  If  I  have  trespassed  upon  your 
indulgence,  it  was  because  it  seemed  to  me  not  inappropriate,  upon  the  very 
threshold  of  your  action,  that  we  should  reflect  upon  and  call  attention  to 
the  long  history  and  constant  growth  of  that  public  sentiment  which  your 
assembly  to-day  expresses,  and  expresses  more  heartily,  more  earnestly. 
more  effectively  than  ever  before.  That  such  a  body  of  men.  representative 
in  the  highest  sense,  assembled  from  every  quarter  of  this  great  valley, 
should  meet  without  making  felt  their  just  desires,  without  impressing, 
soberly,  earnestly,  but  imperatively,  upon  the  government  of  this  nation  the 
expediency  and  the  wisdom  of  yielding  that  which  they  rightfully  demand. — 
this,  gentlemen,  we  may  well  feel  confident  is  one  of  the  things  that  cannot 
take  place.  [Loud  and  prolonged  applause.] 

Mr.  McEnnis  then  said  :  "  By  request  I  will  introduce  Gov. 
Thomas  T.  Crittenden,  of  Missouri,  to  act  as  temporary  Chair- 
man of  the  Convention.  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I 
have  the  honor  as  well  as  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you 
Gov.  Thomas  T.  Crittenden,  of  Missouri."  [Loud  applause.] 

Gov.  Crittenden,  on  assuming  the  chairmanship,  said: 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  :  It  is  gratifying,  indeed,  to  see 
such  a  body  of  representative  men  assembled  from  so  large  a  part  of  our 
country  for  a  common  purpose.  Xot  how  to  build  up  higher  walls ;  not  how- 
to  construct,  under  mathematical  calculations,  stronger  forts;  not  how  to 


24 

enforce  a  cunning  law  against  tin1  oppre— ed  tillers  of  the  soil;  not  how  to 
-ecure  a  partisan   victory  for  political   ends;   but  how  to  cheapen  broad  for 
tin1  world:  ho\v  to  -trengthen  our  own  producers;  how  to  utilize  the  greatest 
body  of  navigable  water  in  the  world,  with  the  largest  tonnage,  at  the  lowest 
charge:   how  to  afford  to  our  own  people  the  cheapest  and  the  most  easy 
facility  for  reaching  the  great  marts  of  trade  of  the  world.     In  the  language 
of  the  New  York  7Y//«->-.  within  the  area  drained  by  the   Mis.-issippi  and  its 
navigable  tributaries  is  produced  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  corn,  seventy-three 
per  cent,   of  the  wheat,  eighty-three  per  cent,  of  the  oats,   sixty-four  per 
cent,  of  the  tobacco,  seventy-seven  per  cent,  of   the  cotton,  and  sixty-three 
per  cent,  of  the  live  hogs  of  the  whole  country:   and  these  are  the  products 
which  make  up  a  large  part  of  our  exports,  and  the  exchange  of  which  for 
foreign  commodities  constitutes  the  bulk  of  our  commerce  with  foreign 
countries.     These  figures  are  great  living  truths,  and  they  contain  and  evolve 
that  great  problem  how   to  transport  these  commodities  to  market  at  tin- 
lowest  possible  charge,  and  that  problem  is.  or  should  be.  the  only  one  that 
has  been  active  in  assembling  this  Convention.     Our  land  is  tilled  with  rail- 
ways   passing    from    east    to  west,   from    north   to   south,    with    surprising 
speed,   and  they  are  a  great  desideratum  in  the  elevation  of  our  country 
which  should  be  duly  appreciated,  backed  by  immense  capital,  managed  by 
men  of  the   largest  brain  and  the  keenest  activity,  which   would  stand  as 
ma-ters  of  the  situation,  if  not  for  this  great  river  and  its  navigable  tributa- 
ric-  which  How   through  so  large  a  part  of  our  common  country,  and  which 
with  an  unfailing  hand  settle  and    unsettle  the  transit  question  by  the  law- 
of  Nature  and  not  the  whims  of  man.     And  this  great  internal  sea  of  ours 
cause-  the  managers  of  those  corporations  to  contend   like  giants  for  that 
tonnage  upborne  upon  the  bosom  of  its  waters.     It  is  Nature's  highway, 
unowned   by  man.  and  a  thousand  tleets  >\M-ep  over  it  without  marking  or 
wearing  it   out.     In  the  language  of  our  own  Kads,  he  who  never  opens  a 
mouth  in  vain.    ••  The  garden  which   it   beautifies   and    enriches   contain.- 
7«>. 000.000  acres  of  the  finest  lands  on  the  face  of  the  globe.     Enough  to 
make  more  than  l.~>s  States  as  large  as  Massachusetts.     Acres  of  the  choicest 
-••il  in   profusion    sufficient  to   duplicate   England.   (Jreat    Britain.    France. 
M.    Au<tria.  1'rus^ia.   Kuropean  Turkey  and  the   Italian  Peninsula  com- 
bined.    If  peopled  as  Belgium  and    the  Netherlands  are.  with  not  one-half 
the  danger  of  famine,  it  woiildVontain  lon.OOO.OOO  of  souls,  nearly  one-third 
the    population  of  the  entire  earth.     Human  comprehension  cannot  grasp 
tin-  grandeur    of    .-uch   an  empire.      Human    wUdom    cannot    estimate  tin- 
wonderful  value  ,,f  -uch  an  inheritance/' 

Gentlemen,  the  question  Oectm,  how  to  make  this  inheritance  greater. 
richer  and  more  worthy  of  being  the  home-  ,,f  ti,j-  marching,  tramping. 
toiling,  progn-s-ive  race  of  ours.  I  feel  a  — mvil  that  the  \\i-dom  of  tbi- 
will  -olve  this  important  question  in  the  most  .-atisfactory  way. 
it  i-  determined  here  to  improve  the  Mi-.-is-ippi  river—  the  great  trunk 
line— then  let  ii-  proceed  to  agree  upon  -ome  fea.-ihle  plan  to  improve  the 
tributaries.  Let  not  the  smaller  ijue.-tion  govern  the  larger  one.  I  touch 


25 

upon  these  two  subjects  with  much  delicacy,  as  it  will  be  left  to  this  body 
to  evolve  some  plan  that  will  work  the  greatest  amount  of  good  at  whatever 
co<t  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  valley. — no.  to  the  whole  population  of  our 
land.  Millions  have  been  generously  and  at  times  wisely  given  to  construct 
railroads  in  our  country,  and  millions  upon  millions,  if  necessary,  should  be 
as  generously  given  to  improve  the  Mississippi  river.  It  may  be  asked,  im- 
prove it  how  much?  I  answer:  All  it  requires  is  that  every  drop  of  idle 
water  that  now  flows  to  the  sea  may  be  harnessed  by  the  hand  of  engineer- 
ing skill  and  made  to  bear  its  proportion  of  the  commerce  of  the  world. 
Paying  into  the  treasury  of  the  Government  our  proportion  of  the  taxe- 
without  grumbling  and  almost  without  limit,  we  shall  have  no  hesitancy  in 
calling  upon  our  representatives  in  Congress  to  return  those  taxes  to  us  for 
the  improvement  of  our  great  rivers,  without  grumbling  and  if  necessary 
almost  without  limit.  We  are  a  part  of  the  nation — a  large  part,  too — and 
we  desire  to  be  recognized  by  that  Government  in  such  a  liberal  way  as 
will  not  only  build  up  our  own  part  of  the  country,  but  will  also  contribute 
largely  to  the  strength,  endurance  and  stability  of  the  whole  country.  We 
are  not  sectional  in  our  demands,  nor  selfish  in  our  appeals.  We  expect  to 
be  heard  in  Congress — we  will  be  heard — because  our  cause  is  just.  In  this 
great  forensic  contest  Illinois  will  stand  by  Louisiana  [loud  applause],  and 
Minnesota  will  stand  by  Kentucky,  and  but  one  flag  will  float  over  all.  and 
that  will  be  the  flag  of  a  paternal  government.  [Loud  applause.]  Gentle- 
men. I  have  seen,  whilst  a  member  of  Congress  from  this  State,  the  evils  of 
i%  omnibus  appropriation  bills  "  for  the  improvement  of  our  rivers  and  har- 
bors. Much  good  is  always  embodied  in  those  bills,  and  also  an  infinite 
amount  of  demagoguery  and  waste  of  money.  It  should  be  stopped  before 
the  evil  gets  too  large.  It  has  already  made  itself  very  strong  in  Congress, 
and  if  not  checked,  and  that  soon,  it  will  dictate  its  own  terms  of  appropri- 
ation. There  are  too  many  unnavigable  and  uuwatered  streams  in  those 
bills  inserted  by  interested  politicians  for  local  purposes.  Abolish  the  evil 
and  assert  the  independence  of  the  great  stream  and  its  truly  navigable 
tributaries.  Then  a,  victory  worthy  of  the  American  Congress  will  have 
been  accomplished,  and  the  money  of  the  people  will  be  judiciously 
expended.  [Applause.]  Enough  money  is  wasted  on  these  small  streams 
to  perform  a  lar°fe  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  desired  work  in  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  Such  foolishness  should  be  stopped  at  once.  May  this  Con- 
vention strike  the  key-note  in  not  only  suppressing  such  an  evil,  but  also  in 
marking  out  a  line  of  policy  by  which  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in 
Congress  are  to  be  governed  in  their  future  appropriation  bills.  I  thank 
tin-  ( '(invention  for  the  honor  conferred  in  making  me  its  temporary  Chair- 
man, and  these  distinguished  delegates  for  having  honored  Missouri  with 
their  presence.  May  wisdom  and  unity  of  action  govern  all  your  delibera- 
tions. [Loud  applause.] 

At    the    conclusion  of    Gov.  Crittenden's    address,  Hon. 
Nathan  Cole,  of  St.  Louis,  said  : 


26 

••Mr.  President,  I  would  like  to  move,  at  this  moment, 
that  Mr.  Frank  Gaiennie  act  as  temporary  Secretary  of  the 
Convention." 

The  motion  being  duly  seconded  was  put  and  carried. 

Mr.  John  Hogan,  of  St.  Louis.  "  I  move  you,  sir,  that  a 
committee  of  one  from  each  State  and  Territory  represented 
here,  be  appointed  a  Committee  on  Credentials  ;  and  probably 
it  will  be  better,  in  order  that  the  committee  may  be  properly 
selected,  and  that  an  opportunity  may  be  given  to  the  States 
to  select  their  men  upon  that  committee,  to  adjourn,  and  I 
therefore  move  that  the  Convention  adjourn  until  to-morrow 
morning." 

Several  delegates.     "No,  no." 

Mr.  Hogan.  "All  right;  any  way  so  that  the  committee 
can  be  appointed." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Pekin,  Illinois.  "  I  move  that  the  roll  of 
States  be  called  in  alphabetical  order,  and  that  each  delega- 
tion be  requested  to  name  one  delegate  to  act  upon  the  sev- 
eral committees:  first  on  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  then 
on  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  as  this  Convention  may 
elect." 

A  delegate  from  Arkansas.  "  I  offer  an  amendment  to 
that.  That  the  chairman  of  the  several  delegations  act  as 
chairman  of  those  committees." 

Mr.  Roberts.  "As  far  as  Illinois  is  concerned,  I  will  say 
that  her  delegation  has  been  already  organized  ;'that  we  have 
a  chairman  ;  and  when  our  State  is  called,  our  chairman  will 
announce  tin-  >everal  representatives  of  those  committees,  and 
1  therefore  in>ist  upon  my  motion." 

The  Chairman.  4t  Does  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  with- 
draw his  motion  ?" 

Mr.  Ilo-ati.  "  My  motion,  the  first  part  of  it,  or  the  part 
that  I  wish  adopted,  i-  -imply  that  the  Committee  on  Creden- 
tials be  appointed.  The  design  of  the  last  part  was  to  give 
an  opportunity  for  consultation  with  the  several  delegations. 


27 

If  the  delegations  have  already  appointed  a  member  to  serve 
on  that  committee,  then  it  can  be  carried  out  now.  That  is 
all  the  design  I  had  in  view." 

Several  delegates.     «*  Question  !  question  !" 
The  Chairman.     "  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  motion 
of  the  gentleman  from  Illinois,  that  the  list  of  States  be  called  ; 
I  believe  that  is  the  purport  of  the  motion." 

A  delegate.     "  List  of  States  and  Territories." 
The  Chairman.     "  Of  the    States   and    Territories;    and 
what  was  the  balance  of  the  motion?" 

Mr.  Koberts.  "And  that  upon  being  called,  the  delega- 
tions of  the  respective  States  and  Territories  name  a  member 
of  the  committee  from  their  respective  States  and  Territo- 
ries." 

The  Chairman.  "  That  the  chairmen  of  the  delegations 
of  the  States  and  Territories,  name  the  respective  members  to 
be  represented  on  the  committee." 

A  delegate  from  Kentucky.      "  Will  the  Chairman  please 
state  for  the  information  of  the  Convention   how  many  com- 
mittees are  to  be  provided  for  in  that  resolution?" 
The  Chairman.     "  One  committee  ;  only  one." 
The  delegate  from  Kentucky.      "A  Committee  on  Cre- 
dentials?" 

The  Chairman.     "A  Committee  on  Credentials." 
The   delegate  from   Kentucky.       "  Very   well,    I  didn't 
understand  it,  and  I  wished  to  know." 

Mr.  George  H.  Shields,  of  Missouri.  "  I  desire  to  offer 
as  a  substitute  to  the  resolution  now  pending,  that  the  dele- 
gates from  the  States  and  Territories  name  members  of  a  Com- 
mittee on  Credentials,  a  Committee  on  Order  of  Business,  a 
Committee  on  Permanent  Organization,  and  a  Committee  on 
Resolutions  ;  and  as  I  know  that  some  of  the  State  delegations 
have  not  organized  yet,  in  order  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to 
name  members  for  those  committees,  I  therefore  move  that  the 
Convention  take  a  recess  for  fifteen  minutes,  in  order  that  the 
delegations  may  be  organized  by  the  respective  States  and 


28 

Territories,  and  at  the  termination  of  the  recess  be  prepared 
to  announce  the  names  of  the  delegates  on  these  committees 
to  the  Convention." 

A  delegate.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  My  point  of 
order  is,  until  the  Convention  is  fully  organized  and  a  Com- 
mittee on  Credentials  has  reported,  we  don't  know  who  con- 
stitute the  Convention." 

The  Chairman.  "The  Chair  will  sustain  the  point  of 
order  of  the  gentleman.  You  have  heard  the  motion  of  the 
gentleman  from  Illinois.  The  Chair  will  now  put  the  motion." 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried. 

The  Chairman.  "  The  Secretary  will  now  call  the  list  of 
the  States  and  Territories." 

A  delegate.  "  I  understand  that  a  motion  has  been  made 
that  a  recess  be  taken,  in  order  that  delegates  may  be  selected 
for  these  committees. 

The  Chairman.  "No,  sir;  the  Chair  does  not  so  under- 
stand. The  gentleman  is  out  of  order.  The  Secretary  will 
proceed  with  the  calling  of  the  roll." 

The  Secretary  then  called  the  roll  of  delegates.  The  first 
State  called  was  Arkansas. 

A  delegate  from  Illinois.  "  I  would  respectfully  ask  the 
Chair  as  to  when  this  meeting  of  the  Illinois  delegation  was 
called.  There  are  several  delegates  from  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois, bordering  on  the  Mississippi,  who  arrived  to-day,  and  do 
not  know  of  the  action  that  was  taken  by  the  delegates  who 
arrived  yesterday ;  and  therefore,  if  it  is  not  too  late,  I  would 
suggest,  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  the  organization  of  this 
Convention  with  entire  harmony,  that  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory represented  in  this  great  Convention, — probably  the 
greatest  and  most  important  that  has  ever  been  held  in  this 
<  ountry,  certainly  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, — that  these  State- 
and  Territories  have  the  privilege  of  selecting  their  members 
for  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  Permanent  Organization, 
Order  of  Business,  and  Resolutions,  >o  that  the  representatives 
from  this  great  valley  can  act  together  and  can  present  the 


29 

names  of  men  from  their  States  that  stand  high  in  commercial, 
political  and  other  relations  ;  and  therefore,  if  not  too  late,  I 
would  suggest  that  the  States  act  together  and  select  their 
members  for  these  committees,  and  afterwards  present  the 
names  to  this  Convention,  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the 
business  of  the  Convention  in  an  orderly  manner."  [Several 
delegates.  "No,  no."] 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  I  would  inform  the  gentleman 
that  the  Illinois  delegation  convened  at  ten  o'clock  at  the 
Planters'  House,  in  pursuance  to  a  call,  and  organized  by  ap- 
pointing Mr.  Holliday  chairman  of  the  delegation,  and  that 
they  then  and  there  agreed  on  the  several  representatives  for 
these  respective  committees.  I  regret  that  the  gentleman  was 
not  present,  but  that  was  not  our  fault." 

A  delegate.  "I  suggest  that  a  recess  be  taken  for  ten 
minutes,  to  allow  these  difficulties  to  be  settled  between  the 
different  States." 

The  delegate  from  Illinois.  "  I  am  requested  by  several 
delegates,  some  of  whom  were  here  yesterday,  and  a  large 
number  of  whom  arrived  to-day,  to  say  that  they  were  not 
cognizant  of  any  meeting  of  the  Illinois  delegation  having 
been  held  at  the  Planters'  House  or  elsewhere.  As  far  as  I 
may  be  permitted,  I  am  perfectly  willing,  as  a  unit,  as  a 
member,  as  one  of  this  Illinois  delegation  to  this  Convention, 
to  submit,  for  myself,  to  the  action  as  taken,  but  we  were  not 
apprised  of  the  fact." 

Several  delegates.     "  Call  the  roll." 

Mr.  E.  O.  Stanard,  of  Missouri.  "  I  have  no  doubt  the 
desire  is  general  to  facilitate  the  business  of  the  Convention  as 
speedily  as  possible.  The  Illinois  delegation  has  had  a  meet- 
ing and  elected  their  officers  and  designated  the  gentlemen 
who  shall  serve  upon  the  committees.  Other  States  may  have 
done  the  same,  but  there  are  several  States  here,  I  am  told, 
and  one  I  know — the  State  of  Missouri — whose  delegates 
have  never  been  called  together  as  a  body,  and  that  is  a 
delegation  in  which  I  am  sure  there  is  no  organization.  Now 


30 

it  seems  to  me  before  we  proceed  to  business  it  would  be  the 
part  of  wisdom  that  we  should  take  a  recess  of  at  least  fifteen 
minutes." 

A  delegate.     "  Thirty  minutes." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "No,  sir;  I  am  making  this  speech. 
[Laughter  and  cries  of  "Go  on."]  What  I  desired  to  say  was 
this,  that  I  think  we  should  take  a  recess  of  at  least  fifteen 
minutes,  and  that  each  delegation — each  State  delegation  in 
their  seats — should  organize.  There  are  more  of  them  together 
now  than  will  be  likely  to  be  got  together  in  any  hour  of  the 
next  twenty-four.  [Laughter.]  And  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
first  business  that  we  should  do,  should  be  for  each  State  to 
have  an  organization  and  designate  the  gentlemen  that  they 
would  have  to  serve  on  the  various  committees." 

A  delegate.     "  What  are  the  various  committees?" 

Mr.  Stanard.  "The  various  committees  have  not  been 
designated ;  but  I  presume  they  are  such  committees  as  are 
usual  in  deliberative  bodies  of  this  kind  ;  a  committee  on 
permanent  organization,  on  order  of  business,  on  resolutions 
and  credentials ;  at  least  those  four  committees.  Now  it 
seems  to  me  that  we  will  be  in  confusion  if  some  step  of  this 
kind  is  not  taken,  and  I  hope  the  gentleman — I  understand 
that  the  gentleman  made  a  motion  that  the  States  be  called 
for  the  purpose  of  designating  members  for  the  Committee  on 
Credentials." 

A  delegate.     "  That  was  all,  sir." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "  That  was  all  that  that  embraced  ;  is  that 
so?" 

A  delegate.     "Yes." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "  Now  let  that  matter  be  held  in  abeyance, 
and  let  us  take  a  recess  and  organize,  as  far  as  the  State 
delegates  are  concerned." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  If  the  gentleman  will  permit 
me,  I  will  withdraw  my  motion,  temporarily,  and  agree  to 
his." 

A  delegate.     "  It  has  been  carried." 


31 

Mr.  Roberts.  "  Well,  then,  I  don't  object ;  if  these  other 
delegations  are  not  organized,  I  don't  object  to  having  them." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "I  move  that  we  take  a  recess  of  fifteen 
minutes,  for  the  purpose  of  organization." 

The  Chairman.  "  It  is  moved  that  this  Convention  take  a 
recess  of  fifteen  minutes,  in  order  that  the  delegations  may 
effect  an  organization  and  present  their  names  to  the  Conven- 
tion." 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried,  and  a  recess  of  fifteen 
minutes  was  taken. 

At  the  termination  of  the  recess  the  Convention  was  called 
to  order  by  the  Chairman,  who  said  : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  it  will  facilitate  business 
very  much  if  each  gentleman  as  he  rises  will  announce  his 
name  and  the  State  from  which  he  comes.  That  request  is 
made  by  the  Press  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Convention,  and 
the  Chairman  will  be  very  much  gratified  if  it  is  done." 

Mr.  D.  H.  Hart,  of  Illinois.  "  I  have  a  resolution  I  wish 
to  offer  to  have  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and 
as  I  shall  not  be  here  to-morrow,  I  would  like  to  ofier  it  now, 
and  I  will  pass  it  to  the  clerk  in  order  that  .it  may  be  re- 
ferred." 

A  delegate.     "  We  are  not  organized,  yet." 

The  Chairman.  "  The  first  thing  in  order  now,  gentle- 
men of  the  Convention,  is  the  calling  of  the  States  and  Ter- 
ritories, in  order  that  the  names  of  the  Committee  on  Cre- 
dentials may  be  obtained.  The  Secretary  will  proceed  to 
call  the  roll." 

Mr.  Rowland,  of  St.  Louis.  "  Before  that  action  is  taken 
I  would  request  Mayor  »Ewing  be  invited  to  make  a  short 
address  of  welcome  to  the  Convention. 

A  delegate.  "I  move  that  Mayor  Ewing  have  leave  to 
print  his  speech." 

The  Chairman.  "I  will  state  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Convention  that  Mayor  Ewing  declines  to  make  an  address, 
and  that  he  would  prefer  to  have  the  Convention  progress 


32 

with  its  business  rather  than  to  detain  it  by  an  address  on  his 
part."  [Loud  applause.] 

The  clerk  then  called  the  roll  of  States,  first  .calling  Ala- 
bama. 

Mr.  T.  B.  Taylor.  "I  am  placed  in  rather  a  delicate 
position ;  I  am  the  only  delegate  from  Alabama." 

The  Chairman.     "  Have  you  your  credentials." 

Mr.  Taylor.  "  Yes,  sir;  from  the  Mayor  of  Montgom- 
ery." 

The  Chairman.  "If  the  gentleman  will  give  his  name 
we  will  make  him  a  delegate." 

Mr.  Taylor.     "  My  name  is  Dr.  Thomas  B.  Taylor." 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  St.  Louis.  "I  move  that  the  gentleman 
from  Alabama,  by  common  consent,  be  appointed  upon  all  the 
committees."  [Applause.] 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  motion  was  carried. 

The  Secretary  then  proceeded  with  the  call  of  the  roll  of 
States,  and  the  delegations  announced  the  following  as  the 
Committee  on  Credentials  and  chairmen  of  the  delegations : 

COMMITTEE    ON    CREDENTIALS. 

Alabama — Thomas  B.  Taylor. 

Arkansas — John  E.  Bennett,  Helena. 

Iowa— Col.  P.  G.  Ballingall. 

Kentucky — B.  C.  Levi. 

Indiana — C.  A.  Zollinger. 

Louisiana — E.  K.  Converse. 

Tennessee — Edward  S.  Jones. 

K;m<:is— B.  M.  Brake. 

Minnesota — E.  W.  Durant,  Stillwater. 

New  Mexico — P.  J.  Kennedy. 

Nebraska — Victor  ViUjuain. 

Dakota— J.  T.  Pettigrew. 

Wisconsin — J.  R.  Berryman. 

West  Virginia — Frank  J.  Hearne,  Wheeling. 


33 

Michigan — Philo  Parsons. 

Missouri — James  Craig. 

New  York— B.  S.  Osborne. 

Pennsylvania — Capt.  J.  T.  Stockdale,  Pittsburg. 

Texas — Thomas  F.  McEnm's. 

Mississippi — Col.  Green  Clay. 

Ohio — Joseph  Hargrove. 

Illinois — Hon.  C.  A.  Walker,  Carlinville. 

The  chairmen  of  the  delegations  as  reported  are  : 

CHAIRMEN    OF    DELEGATIONS. 

Alabama — Thomas  B.  Taylor. 

Arkansas— Capt.  W.  H.  Fulton. 

Iowa— J.  W.  Thomas. 

Kentucky — Eugene  Underwood. 

Indiana — G.  V.  Menzies,  Mt.  Vernon. 

Louisiana — Duncan  F.  Kenner. 

Tennessee — J.  B.  Heiskill. 

Kansas— F.  P.  Baker. 

Minnesota — C.  C.  Sturtevant. 

Missouri — E.  O.  Stanard. 

New  Mexico — P.  J.  Kennedy. 

Nebraska— H.  G.  Clark. 

Dakota — J.  T.  Pettigrew. 

Wisconsin — Win.  T.  Price. 

West  Virginia — Col.  Alex.  Campbell,  Bethany. 

Michigan — Philo  Parsons. 

New  York— B.  S.  Osborne. 

Pennsylvania — R.  C.  Gray,  Pittsburg. 

Texas— T.  T.  Gammage. 

When  the  State  of  Michigan  was  called,  a  delegate  said  : 
; '  Michigan  has  but  two  delegates  present.  More  are  expected 
this  afternoon.  We  were  not  conscious  that  we  had  any  im- 
mediate interest  in  the  affair ;  but  we  have  the  deepest  inter- 
est in  point  of  sympathy  with  it,  and  we  sympathize  with 


34 

what  the  States  watered  by  the  Mississippi  demand,  and  we 
shall  second  their  efforts."      [Loud  applause.] 

When  New  Mexico  was  called,  Mr.  P.  J.  Kennedy  said : 
"New  Mexico  has  but  one  delegate,  P.  J.  Kennedy." 

Mr.  Eowland,  of  St.  Louis.  "  I  move  that  Mr.  Kennedy, 
of  New  Mexico,  be  considered  the  chairman  of  the  delegation 
from  New  Mexico,  and  also  a  member  of  each  one  of  these 
committees." 

The  Chairman.  "  It  will  be  so  ordered  unless  objection  is 
made." 

A  delegate.  "  I  was  just  going  to  make  that  motion,  to 
apply  to  all  who  are  single  delegates." 

The  Chairman.  "  It  will  be  so  ordered  unless  objection  is 
made." 

Mr.  Craig,  of  Missouri.  "  I  have  investigated,  as  far  as  I 
could,  the  names  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been  appointed 
to  this  Convention  from  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  as  you  will 
see,  I  have  quite  a  number  of  columns  of  names  here  ;  and  the 
gentlemen  present,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  are 
all  delegates,  duly  appointed,  either  by  municipal  bodies  or 
otherwise,  having  the  right  to  sit  here  as  members  of  this 
Convention ;  but  I  will  not  be  able  to  get  my  list  perfected 
until  to-morrow  morning,  and  even  then  I  will  not  without 
the  aid  of  two  clerks  ;  and  I  ask  the  Convention  to  give  me 
until  to-morrow  morning  for  that  purpose."  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Chase,  of  Nebraska.  "  I  suggest  that  when  members 
ri-e  they  give  their  names.  We  want  to  know  who  these  men 
are  from  the  different  States.  I  think  it  would  be  well  where 
a  delegate  represents  a  State  alone,  as  Mr.  Pettigrew,  for 
instance,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Dakota,  and  who  has 
done  us  the  honor  of  sitting  with  us,  and  as  I  know  him  to  be 
straight  in  every  way,  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  act  upon 
all  the  committees  ;  and  therefore,  I  move  that  he  be  author- 
ized to  act  on  all  the  committees  as  a  representative  from  the 
Territory  of  Dakota." 


35 

The  Chairman.  "You  have  heard  the  motion,  that  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Pettigrew,  of  Dakota,  be  permitted  to  act  upon  all 
the  committees,  as  a  representative  from  that  Territory.  It 
will  be  so  ordered  unless  objection  is  made." 

A  delegate.  "  I  now  suggest  that  the  members  of  the 
Committee  on  Credentials  retire  to  a  separate  room." 

Mr.  Durant,  of  Minnesota.  "I  would  suggest  that  the 
committeemen  step  back  and  they  will  find  a  room  provided  for 
them,  and  that  they  perform  the  committee  work  as  soon  as 
possible  and  report  to  this  Convention." 

A  delegate.  "  I  move  that  the  Committee  on  Credentials 
have  leave  to  retire  for  deliberation." 

A  delegate.  "  I  move  that  the  chairman  of  each  delega- 
tion from  each  State  pass  in  the  list  of  the  names  of  the  dele- 
gates from  his  State.  I  presume,  sir,  that  each  chairman  on 
the  Committee  on  Credentials  from  each  State  knows  who 
represents  his  State,  and  he  can  pass  in  the  list  of  names, 
together  with  the  credentials,  if  they  are  required,  to  save 
further  delay." 

A  delegate  from  Indiana.  "  I  wish  to  call  the  attention 
of  this  Convention  to  the  fact,  that  by  some  omission,  no 
placard  has  been  put  up  for  the  State  of  Indiana.  I  presume 
other  delegates  would  like  to  know  where  that  State  is 
located  in  this  Convention,  and  therefore  I  suggest  the  pro- 
priety of  having  some  recognition  of  the  State  of  Indiana  and 
its  locality  in  this  Convention." 

Mr.  Osborne,  of  New  York.  "  I  stand  in  the  same  rela- 
tion with  my  friend,  Mr.  Parsons,  of  Michigan,  representing 
the  National  Board  of  Steam  Navigation,  which  has  had 
members  for  the  last  ten  years  in  every  State  bordering  on 
this  great  water-way,  or  on  the  sea-coast.  I  was  appointed  a 
delegate  to  come  from  the  sea-coast  to  the  city  of  St.  Louis, 
and  join  in  the  deliberations  of  this  body.  I  am  put  down  in 
the  newspapers  as  from  New  York.  I  represent,  in  the  sen- 
timent of  that  body,  not  only  New  York,  but  Maine,  Xew 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Rhode  Island, — and  I 


36 

will  stop  there,  unless  I  switch  off  to  Maryland.  [Laughter.] 
We  have  no  shingle  up,  but  we  want  our  voice  heard  in  this 
Convention.  [Loud  laughter  and  applause.]  We  recognize  as 
much  as  any  of  the  representatives  from  other  States  that  any- 
thing that  is  for  the  good  of  the  West  ought  to  be  good  for  the 
East.  [Applause.]  And  for  that  reason,  in  the  name  of  the 
organization  that  has  sent  me  ten  hundred  and  sixty-five 
miles — so  the  railroad  time-table  says — to  come  here  and  rep- 
resent them,  we  ask  for  a  shingle,  and  we  want  to  be  repre- 
sented on  the  Committee  on  Credentials.  [Laughter.]  Excuse 
me  for  making  all  this  noise,  but  I  can't  ride  for  thirty-five 
consecutive  hours  and  some  minutes  on  the  cars,  and  then  be 
an  hour  late,  and  not  be  heard  after  all.  [Laughter.]  There 
were  five  delegates  appointed — good  men,  some  of  them  you 
know  very  well ;  one  of  them  is  in  Europe.  He  couldn't  get 
here  to-day,  but  he  will  some  day.  Two  more  have  been 
appointed.  My  name  is  Osborne.  I  am  chairman  of  the  dele- 
gation, and  I  am  on  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  and  I 
have  two  more  delegates  to  put  on  anv^  committee  that  you 
want." 

Mr.  Anderson,  of  Pennsylvania.  "As  it  is  really  neces- 
sary that  we  should  have  a  mariner  to  navigate  these  waters, 
I  move  that  the  sailor-man  from  New  York  be  added  to  all 
these  committees, — Mr.  Osborne,  from  New  York." 

Mr.  Osborne.  "  I  will  answer  for  New  York."  [Laugh- 
ter.] 

Mr.  Bain,  of  St.  Louis.     "  Mr.  Chairman — " 

The  Chairman.  "  The  gentleman  from  Iowa, — no,  from 
Michigan."  [Loud  laughter.] 

A  delegate.      "  Mr.  Bain  is  from  Missouri." 

The  Chairman.  "  The  gentleman  from  Missouri,  Mr. 
George  Bain." 

Mr.  Bain.  "  I  merely  want  to  answer  the  gentleman  from 
Indiana, — that  State  which  is  famous  for  its  hoop-poles  and 
Democratic  candidates  for  the  Presidency — that  we  had  a 
placard  for  that  State,  and  I  don't  know  what  has  become  of 


37 

it.  Perhaps  some  of  the  delegates  have  put  it  in  their 
pockets.  There  certainly  was  a  placard  put  up  for  that 
State,  so  that  it  could  be  located  in  the  organization  of  this 
body,  and  I  think  that  Indiana  ought  to  have  such  a  sign,  as 
much  as  any  other  State,  although  it  don't  exactly  border  on 
the  Mississippi  or  any  other  river.  It  is  certainly  too  impor- 
tant to  be  left  out  of  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention, 
and  the  committee  will  see  to  it  that  it  is  properly  located  in 
this  Convention." 

A  delegate.      "  Where  is  the  Wabash?" 

Mr.  Murphy,  of  Iowa.  "I  desire  to  say  in  behalf  of 
Iowa,  that  we  have  had  a  great  many  inflictions,  but  the  worst 
bane  that  ever  was  put  on  us  was  the  recognition  of  that 
gentleman,  Mr.  Bain,  of  St.  Louis,  as  a  representative  of 
Iowa."  [Loud  laughter.] 

Mr.  Cole,  of  St.  Louis.  "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  presume  the 
desire  of  all  the  members  of  this  Convention  is  that  we  should 
now  have  the  business  expedited  as  much  as  possible,  and  if 
it  is  in  order,  I  would  like  to  move  at  this  moment  that  the 
delegates  for  each  of  the  committees,  on  order  of  business, 
resolutions,  and  permanent  organization,  should  be  called  upon 
now  to  report  the  names  of  members  for  those  committees.  I 
make  that  motion." 

The  Chairman.  '«  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  the 
States  and  Territories  will  be  called  now,  for  the  names  of  the 
Committee  on  Permanent  Organization  of  this  Convention. 
Please  announce  them  when  the  States  are  called . ' ' 

Mr.  Denman,  of  Illinois.  "  I  will  ask  for  information, 
how  do  we  know  who  are  members  of  the  Convention?  No 
committee  on  credentials  has  as  yet  reported,  and,  although  I 
have  not  the  slightest  doubt  in  my  mind  that  every  gentleman 
here  is  a  delegate,  and  duly  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  Conven- 
tion, it  seems  to  me  a  little  premature  for  such  action  as  this 
to  be  taken  previous  to  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Cre- 
dentials ;  let  us  have  that,  and  know  who  are  here  and  entitled 
to  seats,  before  we  proceed  to  permanent  organization." 


38 

A  delegate.  "  I  will  ask  the  gentleman  how  he  got  his 
badge?'' 

Mr.  Denman.  "  I  got  my  badge  from  the  committee,  sir, 
and  remarked  afterwards  that  any  man  with  a  little  cheek 
could  go  and  get  a  badge." 

Mr.  Wood,  of  Illinois.  "It  is  plain  before  we  can  pro- 
ceed with  any  business  in  this  Convention,  that  it  will  be 
necessary  for  this  committee  to  report.  I  shall  therefore 
move  that  the  Convention  adjourn  until  half-past  three  o'clock 
for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Credentials." 

The  Chairman.  "  Gentlemen,  I  will  state  to  the  Conven- 
tion that  we  have  to  vacate  this  building  this  afternoon  at 
half -past  four  o'clock."  [Several  voices.  "No,  no."] 

The  Chairman.  "  We  have  to  do  that.  We  have  to  sur- 
render the  building  at  half-past  four  o'clock." 

Mr.  Cole,  of  St.  Louis.  "  I  move  to  amend  that  we  meet 
at  half-past  two  o'clock,  to  hear  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Credentials." 

Mr.  Underwood,  of  Kentucky.  "I  wish  your  attention, 
Mr.  Chairman,  for  one  moment.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  a 
question  prior  to  the  question  of  the  appointment  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Credentials.  I  see  here  the  names  of  some  States, 
but  it  appears  that  all  the  States  are  not  named  as  to  who 
shall  compose,  or  whose  delegates  shall  compose,  this  Conven- 
tion. And  now,  sir,  I  would  like  to  know,  and  to  hear  from 
the  Chairman,  what  Stales  ;nv  to  be  represented  in  this  Con- 
vention." [Voices.  "All."] 

Mr.  Underwood.     "  All  the  States  of  the  United  States?" 

Several  delegates.     "  Yes." 

Mr.  Underwood.  "  All  the  States  of  the  United  States, 
sir?" 

Several  delegates.     "Yes." 

The  Chairman.  "  The  Mississippi  Valley,  under  the  call, 
as  I  understand  it." 

Mr.  Underwood.     "  I  supposed,  Mr.  Chairman,  this  was 


39 

a  Convention  to  be  composed  of  the  States  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley." 

Several  delegates.     "That  is  right." 

Mr.  Underwood.  "And  if  it  is  confined  to  the  States 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  we  should  now  understand  it ;  if  it 
is  to  be  composed  of  all  the  States  of  the  United  States,  we 
should  so  understand  it ;  and  I  therefore  ask  that  we  shall 
have  some  announcement  as  what  is  to  be  the  constituency 
of  this  Convention." 

The  Chairman.  "  I  will  read,  for  the  information  of  the 
gentleman,  a  part  of  the  call,  which  I  think  answers  the 
question  : 

"  'In  view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  and 
the  results  to  be  attained,  we  would  cordially  and  earnestly 
invite  the  various  boards  of  trade  of  the  Valley  so  largely 
interested  in  these  results,  as  well  as  those  from  the  commu- 
nities outside  the  Valley  who  appreciate  the  scope  of  the 
Convention,  to  send  delegates  fully  penetrated,'  "  etc.  [Loud 
applause.] 

Mr.  Osborne,  of  New  York.  "Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I 
move  that  the  roll  of  the  Secretary  be  accepted  as  the 
credentials  of  this  body  of  delegates.  It  will  save  time  ;  it 
will  save  talk,  and  it  will  make  harmony."  [Loud  applause.] 

Mr.  Bennett,  of  Arkansas.  "I  have  a  little  suggestion  to 
make  for  the  speedy  prosecution  of  the  business  of  the  Con- 
vention. As  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Credentials  I 
would  desire  to  suggest  for  the  consideration  of  the  President 
of  this  Convention  that  the  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Credentials  meet  in  a  body,  and  that  each  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Credentials  from  each  State  report  the  delegates 
from  his  own  State  and  hand  the  list  to  the  Secretary,  and  let 
that  be  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Credentials.  I  know 
it  is  parliamentary  usage  for  the  Committee  on  Credentials  to 
meet  together  and  then  make  a  separate  report ;  but  it  will 
avoid  a  great  deal  of  confusion  and  save  time,  perhaps,  to  let 
each  delegation  report  its  own  members  here,  and  hand  the 


40 

list  to  the  Secretary,  and  let  that  be  the  list  of  the  Conven- 
tion." 

Mr.  Osborne,  of  New  York.  "I  will  accept  that  amend- 
ment, sir." 

The  Chairman.  "  You  hear  the  motion  of  the  gentleman 
from  Arkansas."  . 

Mr.  Craig,  of  Missouri.  "  I  will  ask  the  Chair  if  the  Sec- 
retary has  got  a  roll?" 

The  Chairman.  "Yes,  sir ;  you  have  heard  the  motion  of 
the  gentleman  from  Arkansas,  that  the  names  of  the  commit- 
tee be  handed  to  the  Secretary." 

A  delegate.  "  I  move  that  the  committee  be  instructed  to 
have  a  shingle  put  up  representing  every  State  in  the  Union." 

The  Chairman.  "That  will  be  attended  to.  You  have 
heard  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Arkansas,  that  :i 
report  of  the  names  be  reported  by  the  different  delegations 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Convention . ' ' 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried. 

A  delegate.  "  I  desire  to  inquire  if  the  Clerk  has  a  list  of 
the  delegates  appointed  by  the  municipalities,  cities  and 
towns?" 

The  Chairman.     "Yes,  sir." 

The  delegate.  "  I  move  that  a  Committee  on  Permanent 
Organization  be  called." 

Another  delegate.  *  *  I  move  that  the  chairman  of  each  del- 
egation report  a  member  of  a  Committee  for  Permanent  Or- 
ganization and  for  Order  of  Business  at  the  same  time." 

Another»delegate.  "  All  these  suggestions  are  out  of  order 
until  the  Committee  on  Credentials  make  their  report." 

The  Chairman.  "  You  have  heard  the  motion  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Minnesota,  that  the  chairmen  of  the  different  del- 
egations from  the  different  States  report  two  names  for  the 
two  different  committees  It  will  expedite  the  business  of  the 
Convention  if  it  is  done." 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried. 


41 

The  Secretary  then  called  the  roll,  and  the  following  Com- 
mittees were  selected : 

PERMANENT    ORGANIZATION. 

Alabama — Thomas  B.  Taylor. 

Arkansas — Hon.  Logan  H.  Roots. 

Iowa — Him.  William  L.  Joy. 

Illinois — Gen.  Rinaker. 

Indiana — J.  A.  Lemcke. 

Kansas— W.  H.  Caldwell. 

Kentucky — J.  H.  Fowler. 

Louisiana — Ex-Go v.  McEnery. 

Missouri — O.  Guitar. 

Minnesota — C.  C.  Sturtevant. 

Michigan — Alonzo  Sessions,  Ionia. 

Mississippi — Col.  S.  H.  Parisot. 

New  Mexico — P.  J.  Kennedy. 

Nebraska — C.  C.  Housel. 

Ohio — John  J.  Raipe. 

Pennsylvania — Charles  Meyran,  Pittsburg. 

Tennessee — R.  J.  Morgan. 

Texas — George  A.  Wright. 

Wisconsin — O.  H.  Ingram. 

West  Virginia — John  A.  Gibney. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

Alabama — Thomas  B.  Taylor. 
Arkansas— Wm.  M.  Fishback. 
Dakota — P.  Donan. 
Iowa — Gen.  Wm.  H.  Vandiver. 
Indiana — Gen.  A.  D.  Streight. 
Illinois— W.  T.  Dowdall,  Peoria. 
Kansas — J.  P.  Root. 
Kentucky— H.  Verhoff,  Jr. 
Louisiana — Duncan  F.  Kenner. 
Mississippi — Judge  H.  F.  Simrall. 
Missouri — Henry  Hitchcock. 


,  42 

Michigan — Alonzo  Sessions. 
Minnesota — R.  Blakesley. 
New  Mexico — P.  J.  Kennedy. 
Nebraska — J.  Sterling  Morton. 
Ohio — S.  F.  Covington. 
Pennsylvania — Hon.  Geo.  H.  Anderson. 
Texas — J.  J.  Gammage. 
Tennessee— H.  T.  Elliot. 
Wisconsin — J.  C.  Gregory. 
West  Virginia — F.  J.  Hearne. 

COMMITTEE  ON  ORDER  OF  BUSINESS. 

Arkansas — H.  M.  Grant. 
Dakota— R.  F.  Pettigrew. 
Iowa — Ed.  Russell. 
Indiana — J.  M.  Reynolds. 
Illinois— W.  D.  Dowdall. 
Kansas — A.  Dorker. 
Kentucky — Frank  Truck. 
Louisiana — A.  J.  Gomila. 
Missouri — Gov.  C.  H.  Hardin. 
Minnesota — O.  C.  Merryman. 
•Mississippi — C.  E.  Webb. 
Michigan — Philo  Parsons. 
New  Mexico — P.  J.  Kennedy. 
New  York — A.  H.  Dugan. 
Nebraska — Henry  G.  Clark. 
Ohio — J.  K.  Morrison. 
Pennsylvania — Joseph  J.  Sidney. 
Texas— W.  H.  Fleppen. 
Tennessee — Smith  Hart. 
Wisconsin — D.  A.  McDonald. 
West  Virginia — John  A.  Givens. 

While  the  roll  was  being  called,  Mr.  Covington,  of  Ohio, 
said  : 

"  I  move  that  in  order  to  expedite   business,  the  chairman 


43 

of  each  delegation  send  up  the  names  of  all  persons  appointed 
on  the  respective  committees." 

The  Chairman.     "  That  is  being  done." 

A  delegate.  "  I  move  that  we  now  adjourn  until  eleven 
o'clock  to-morrow.'' 

Mr.  Bennett,  of  Arkansas.  "I  desire  to  offer  the  follow- 
ing resolution :  That  the  roll  of  States  be  called,  and  that 
all  delegates  having  resolutions  prepared  may  submit  them 
and  have  them  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  for 
consideration  without  debate." 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

A  delegate.  "  I  move  that  all  delegates  from  the  territory 
contiguous  to  the  Missouri  river  remain  here  immediately 
after  adjournment." 

Mr.  Hogan.  "  I  move,  as  an  amendment  to  the  resolu- 
tion just  offered,  that  the  resolutions  be  read  to  the  Conven- 
tion, and  then  referred  without  debate." 

Mr.  Bennett.     "  I  accept  the  amendment." 

A  delegate.  "  It  will  probably  be  a  very  long  matter  to 
receive  all  these  resolutions  and  read  them,  and  I  therefore 
move  that  the  Convention  adjourn  till  three  o'clock,  in  order 
that  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization  may  be  en- 
abled to  report." 

The  Chairman.  "  Before  the  motion  to  adjourn  is  put,  I 
desire  to  read  a  request  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  that  the 
members  of  the  press  who  are  delegates  to  this  Convention, 
are  invited  by  the  press  of  this  city  to  meet  at  three  p.  M.,  at 
the  press  headquarters,  in  the  Laclede  Hotel,  Parlor  B.,  for 
the  purpose  of  a  carriage  ride  to  Forest  Park  and  other  places 
in  the  suburbs." 

A  delegate.  "  Please  announce  where  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions  will  meet,  and  other  committees,  so  that  when 
we  adjourn  we  may  know  where  to  go  as  members  of  com- 
mittees." 

The  Chairman.     "  The  Secretary  will  read  the  resolution 


44 

that  has  been  offered  and  amended,  before  the  motion  to  ad- 
journ is  put." 

The  Secretary  then  read  as  follows  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  roll  of  States  be  called,  and  that  all 
delegates  having  resolutions  prepared  may  submit  them  after 
being  read,  and  have  them  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions  without  debate." 

A  delegate  from  Tennessee.  "  I  move  to  lay  the  amend- 
ment on  the  table." 

A  delegate  from  Illinois.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  I 
made  a  motion  to  adjourn,  and  I  understand  that  it  is  before 
the  Convention,  and  that  only  is  in  order." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  withdraw  his 
motion  to  adjourn  ;  it  is  only  about  half-past  one  o'clock. 

A  delegate.  "  I  call  the  gentleman  from  Missouri  to 
order." 

The  Chairman.  "It  is  moved  that  this  Convention  ad- 
journ until  three  o'clock." 

The  motion  was  put  and  lost. 

The  Chairman.  "  The  question  now  is  on  the  motion  of 
the  gentleman  from  Tennessee,  to  lay  the  resolution  on  the 
table." 

The  motion  was  put  and  lost. 

The  Chairman.  "  The  question  now  is  on  the  adoption 
of  the  resolution." 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Elliot.    "That  resolution  has  not  been  voted  on  yet." 

The  Chairman.  "  I  will  state  for  the  information  of  the 
gentleman,  that  the  motion  to  lay  the  resolution  on  the  table 
was  lost,  and  that  the  resolution  has  been  adopted." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "I  understand  there  is  a  point  of  order 
pending  against  me." 

A  delegate  from  Texas.     "  I  make  the  point  of  order  that 


45 

no  resolution  can  be  entertained  by  the  Convention  until  after 
the  permanent  organization,  and  that  we  are  no  win  embryo." 

The  Chairman.  "The  point  of  order  is  well  taken.  I 
sustain  the  gentleman's  point  of  order." 

Mr.  Stanard.  "There  are  many  letters  here  from  dis- 
tinguished men  throughout  the  entire  United  States,  some  of 
which  I  am  sure  this  Convention  would  like  to  hear.  I  ob- 
serve in  looking  over  a  long  list  of  distinguished  men  here 
from  the  various  States,  that  there  is  a  gentleman  who  was  a 
member  of  the  first  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Conven- 
tion, I  believe,  that  ever  was  held  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
who  secured,  or  was  largely  instrumental,  at  least,  in  securing 
the  first  appropriation  that  was  ever  made  for  the  improvement 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  as  we  have  an  hour  or  two  to 
spare,  I  hope  that  some  of  these  letters  will  be  read,  and  that 
some  of  these  gentlemen  who  are  here  will  be  invited  to  ad- 
dress the  Convention  ;  and  in  my  reference  a  moment  ago,  I 
desire  now  to  state  that  I  referred  to  Gen.  George  W. 
Jones,  of  Iowa.  [Loud  applause.]  I  move  that  he  be  re- 
quested to  address  the  Convention." 

The  Chairman.  "  You  have  heard  the  motion  ;  if  there  is 
no  objection  Gen.  Jones  will  come  forward  and  address  the 
Convention." 

There  being  no  objection,  Gen.  Jones  came  forward,  amid 
loud  applause,  and  spoke  as  follows : 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  this  glorious,  magnificent  Convention. 
I  am  embarrassed  beyond  expression  at  this  distinguished  honor  which  is 
conferred  upon  me  by  this  Convention  in  being  requested  to  address  you  on 
this  occasion.  I  can  conceive  of  no  reason  why  I  should  be  selected  to 
address  you  upon  this  occasion  unless  it  be  that  I  am,  perhaps,  the  oldest 
member  of  it.  I  suppose  I  am  the  oldest  member  of  the  Convention  from 
the  State  of  Missouri.  I  came  to  St.  Louis,  as  the  papers  have  announced, 
in  1814.  My  father  was  a  member  of  the  first  Convention  which  framed  the 
Constitution  of  Missouri,  and  under  that  Constitution  was  elected  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Missouri  in  1820.  As  the  gen- 
tleman upon  my  right— from  the  State  of  Missouri,  I  believe  (Governor 
Stanard) — ha>  said.  I  had  the  honor  of  being  the  introducer  of  a  resolution 
in  Congress,  in  1836-7,  under  which,  I  believe,  the  first  appropriation  of 


4(5 

money  was  ever  nuule  to  remove  the  obstruction  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  river  at  the  Des  Homes  and  Rock  River  rapids.  Under 
that  resolution  of  mine  an  appropriation  of  $75.000  was  made.  General 
Charles  Gratiot,  then  Chief  Engineer  of  the  United  States  at  Washington 
City,  informed  me,  after  the  appropriation  was  made  by  Congress,  that 
General  Jackson,  then  President  of  the  United  States,  intended  to  veto 
that  bill,  and  suggested  to  me  that  I  should  procure  the  assistants,  if  I 
could,  of  old  members  of  Congress — I  then  being  about  the  youngest  mem- 
ber in  Congress — to  wait  upon  the  President.  (Jeiu-ral  .laekson,  to  induce 
him  not  to  veto  my  bill. 

As  I  had  been  introduced  to  General  Jaekson  when  I  reached  Washing- 
ton, on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  IS'.K.  by  an  old  friend  of  his.  as  a 
college-mate  of  his  son, — as  a  class-mate  of  his  son,  A.  J.  Donaldson, — and 
as  I  knew  that  the  old  hero  looked  upon  me  almost  as  a  son,  I  undertook  to 
wait  upon  that  hero  to  ask  him  not  to  veto  that  bill.  I  did  so.  He  said. 
••  My  son,  I  am  under  the  view  which  I  took, — and  under  my  Maysville  veto, 
I  am  compelled  to  veto  that  bill,  because  of  its  being  in  opposition  to  tin- 
views  entertained  in  my  veto -message." 

I  said  to  him:  "Mr.  President,  I,  as  a  delegate  from  the  Territory  of 
Michigan — I  was  then  the  last  delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Michigan — 
introduced  the  resolution  in  Congress  asking  Congress  to  make  this  appro- 
priation for  the  benefit  of  my  constituents  who  are  the  offspring  of  the 
General  Government,  and  under  the  protection  of  the  General  Government. 
I  introduced  that  resolution,  sir.  so  that  we  could  get  our  bread/'  We  had 
nothing  in  the  world  from  Michigan  Territory  to  ship  down  the  river  then 
excepting  lead;  and  we  had  no  means,  I  told  him.  of  obtaining  the  Hour  and 
the  pork  and  the  provisions  upon  which  we  were  to  live,  for  we  raised 
nothing  ourselves  in  Michigan  Territory  then  west  of  the  Lake,  nothing  at 
all.  and  for  that  reason  I  said  to  him.  I  have  introduced  this  resolution.  lie 
say*:  t;  Are  you  the  author  of  that  resol  m  ion  y"  I  said:  -  Yes.  sir;  and  I 
ask  it  as  a  delegate  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  :  and  I  hope,  Mr.  President, 
that  yon  will  not  veto  my  bill."  He  said :  "  My  son,  as  you  are  the  author 
of  it,  I  will  not  veto  it."  [Loud  applause.] 

I  need  not  go  into  the  particulars  to  tell  you  all  of  the  arguments  that  1 
made  use  of  at  that  time,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  .-ay  thai  as  the  delegate  of 
Michigan  Territory,  which  then  embraced  the  present  States  of  Michigan. 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  Nebraska,  and  all  of  that  country  extend- 
ing to  t he  Pacific  ocean,— as  that  territory  wa-  represented  by  myself,  I  had 
some  influence  with  the  old  hero,  and  had  the  honor  of  seeing  my  bill 
approved  by  his  hand. 

Now,  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  and  Mr.  President,  1  hope  that  you 
will  not  expect  me  to  extend  my  remarks.  I  nippo-i-  I  could,  as  old  men 
are  very  garrulous,  keep  you  here  for  a  long  time,  but  I  would  not  do  so,  in 
consideration  of  the  fact  that  several  motion- have  already  been  made,  and 
that  you  must  already  be  prepared  for  your  dinner,  and  I  then- fore  ask  you 
to  excuse  me  from  saying  anything  further.  [Loud  applause.] 


47 

• 
The  Chairman.     "  Gentlemen,    permit   me   to  state  here 

now,  before  the  members  are  scattered,  that  this  Convention 
is  respectfully  invited  to  attend  a  promenade  concert  in  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  this  evening  at  eight  o'clock,  and  to 
take  your  wives  and  sweethearts  along  with  you." 

A  delegate.     "Or  somebody  else's  wife?"     [Laughter.] 

A  delegate  from  Arkansas.  *'  I  move,  in  order  to  give  the 
Committee  on  Permanent  Organization  time  to  perfect  their 
organization  and  to  report  to  the  Convention,  that  we  adjourn 
to  meet  at  half-past  two  or  three — say  three  o'clock — this  even- 
ing, in  order  that  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization 
may  report,  because  if  we  do  not  organize  until  to-morrow 
we  will  not  get  through  this  week." 

Mr.  Bain.  "  I  would  suggest  that  as  there  is  no  place  to 
meet  herein  this  room,  or  connected  with  this,  that  the  Com- 
mittee on  Permanent  Organization  meet  in  the  gentlemen's  par- 
lor at  the  Southern  Hotel.  I  make  that  motion." 

A  delegate.  "I  move  that  we  adjourn  till  to-morrow 
morning  at  nine  o'clock." 

Mr.  Hardin,  of  Missouri.  "  I  suggest  that  the  Committee 
on  Order  of  Business  meet  immediately  after  adjournment." 

A  delegate  from  Minnesota.  "  I  wish  to  say  to  the  Con- 
vention that  there  is  present  with  us  to-day  the  only  represen- 
tative of  that  first  original  river  convention  which  was  held 
in  the  city  of  Memphis  (and  which  has  been  described  to  us  by 
the  orator  who  welcomed  us  here) — Gen.  Rozier,  of  Missouri ; 
and  I  would  suggest,  sir,  and  move,  that  Gen.  Kozier  be 
requested  to  address  this  Convention  now.  We  would  like  to 
know  the  men  who  are  heretfunong  us  who  were  the  pioneers  in 
this  work — the  men  who  were  in  that  convention  presided  over 
by  John  C.  Calhoun." 

The  Chairman.  "  Gentlemen,  I  will  state  for  the  infor- 
mation, of  the  Convention,  that  the  Secretary  is  now  ready  to 
report  where  the  various  committees  will  meet." 

Mr.  Rowland,  of  St.  Louis.     "  Before  the  report  of  the 


48 

* 

committee  is  read,  I  would  like  to  extend  an  invitation  for  a 
committee  to  meet  at  the  Planters'  House." 
Several  voices.     "Report,  report." 

The  Secretary  made  the  following  announcement : 

"The  Committee  on  Resolutions  will  meet  in  Parlor  17  of 
theLindell  Hotel." 

Mr.  Bain.     "  Immediately?" 

The  Secretary.  "  Immediately,  of  course.  The  Com- 
mittee on  Permanent  Organization  will  meet  in  the  gentle- 
men's parlor  of  the  Southern  Hotel.  The  Committee  on 
Order  of  Business  will  meet  at  the  office  of  the  Executive 
Committee  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Southern  Hotel." 

Mr.  Rowland.  "  I  move,  instead  of  the  office  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  that  they  meet  at  the  Planters'  House,  as 
an  invitation  has  been  extended  by  the  proprietors  of  that 
hotel." 

Mr.  Bain.     "  They  will  not  do  anything  of  the  kind." 

Mr.  Rowland.     "  I  will  explain." 

The  Chairman.  "  The  Committee  can  make  that  change 
if  it  is  necessary." 

Mr.  Underwood,  of  Kentucky.  "  The  Committee  on 
Credentials — the  place  is  not  indicated." 

The  Chairman.  "I  will  state  to  the  gentleman  that  the 
Committee  on  Credentials  will  meet  in  the  Southern  Hotel 
gentlemen's  parlor  immediately." 

A  delegate  from  Iowa.  "  The  Committee  on  Credentials 
has  already  passed  a  resolution,  which  the  Chairman  will 
pass  to  the  Secretary  now.  I  make  a  motion  that  these  com- 
mittees meet  at  four  o'clock,  and  report  to-morrow  at  ten. 
The  idea  that  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  can  report  this 
afternoon  is  impossible.  There  will  be  lots  of  talking,  and  it 
will  be  impossible  to  report  this  evening,  and  I  move  that 
this  Committee  report  to-morrow  morning  at  ten  o'clock." 

Mr.  Fishback,  of  Arkansas.  "  I  have  ;i  motion  to  adjourn, 
which  is  always  in  order,  and  ought  to  have  been  put." 


49 

The  Chairman.  "The  gentleman  from  Arkansas  moves 
that  this  Convention  adjourn  until  this  afternoon  at  four 
o'clock." 

• 

The  motion  was  put  and  lost. 

Mr.  Craig,  of  Missouri.  "I  move  that  the  Convention 
adjourn  to  meet  at  ten  o'clock  to-morrow  morning." 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried,  and  the  Convention 
thereupon  adjourned. 


SECTION  2— SECOND  DAY. 


OCTOBER  27,  1881. 

The  Convention  re-assembled  at  10:30  A."  M.,  and  was 
called  to  order  by  Governor  Crittenden,  temporary  President. 

The  President.  "  The  Convention  will  be  opened  with 
prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot,  of  this  city." 

PRAYER   BY   REV.    W.    G.    ELIOT. 

"Almighty  and  most  merciful  God,  Thou  who  art  the  Ruler 
of  the  universe,  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  we  pray  that 
Thy  blessing  may  rest  upon  us  here. 

"  We  thank  Thee  that  we  are  permitted  this  day  to  meet 
together  as  brothers  in  the  interest  of  peace,  of  good  order,  and 
of  national  union.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  great  American 
brotherhood  to  which  we  belong.  We  thank  Thee  that  we 
have  come  together  to  consider  those  things  which  are  for  our 
common  good  ;  that  here  we  remember  that  we  represent  sister 
States  of  the  great  republic  ;  that  here  we  are  members  of  one 
body.  And  we  thank  Thee  that  we  have  at  last  learned, 
though  it  has  been  through  sadness  and  tears,  that  being 
members  of  one  body,  when  one  member  suffers,  all  members 
suffer  with  it,  and  when  one  rejoices  all  rejoice  with  it. 
Therefore  we  pray  that  Thou  wilt  give  us  wisdom  in  our 
councils  and  strength  in  our  purposes.  We  pray  that  Thou 
wilt  teach  us  that  we  are  not  working  for  separate  benefit,  but 
for  the  common  good.  We  pray  that  Thou  wilt  teach  us  to 
remember  that  Thou  governest  all,  and  that  no  councils  which 
are  begun  or  continued  without  Thy  blessing  can  succeed. 

"  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  prospered  our  great  and 
beloved  country  so  far,  leading  us  through  ways  that  we  had 
not  known,  through  sorrow,  through  tears,  through  battle, 

[50] 


51 

through  blood,  to  this  glorious  union  of  hearts  and  purposes. 

4 «  O  most  merciful  God ,  may  Thy  blessing  still  rest  upon  us , 
Thou  who  hast  taught  us  that  we  are  but  one  family.  Through 
one  great  common  grief  which  almost  bereft  us  at  the  time  ot 
thought  and  reason,  Thou  hast  taught  us  we  are  but  one 
family.  Grant  that  we  may  carry  this  feeling  forward  with 
greater  and  greater  earnestness  and  more  tender  affection. 
And  may  Thy  blessing  rest  upon  our  country,  upon  its  rulers 
and  its  legislators.  Grant  that  they  may  have  wisdom  and 
truth  to  guide  them,  and  that  they  may  not  care  for  party  inter- 
ests in  comparison  with  the  great  interests  of  the  whole  land. 

"  And  now,  trusting  ourselves  to  Thee,  feeling  our  own 
weakness  and  our  own  ignorance,  thanking  Thee  once  more 
that  we  are  here  together  for  a  united  purpose  in  the  interest 
of  peace  and  good  order  and  national  union,  we  would  glorify 
Thy  name  forever  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Amen." 

Mr.  Hardin.  of  Missouri.  '» You  have  a  committee  ap- 
pointed on  Order  of  Business,  and  they  are  ready  to  make  a 
report." 

The  President.     "  Let  the  report  be  presented." 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  "  Before  that  report  is  read  per- 
mit me,  if  you  please,  to  make  this  suggestion.  The  United 
States  Government  have  appointed  a  Commission  for  the  im- 
provement of  these  water-ways  that  we  are  looking  after. 
That  Commission,  by  request,  has  appointed  a  delegation  from 
its  body  to  represent  it  in  this  Convention  and  make  known 
its  plans.  I  suggest  that  the  Convention  invite  that  delega- 
tion to  take  seats  upon  the  platform,  and  unite  with  us  in  the 
investigations  that  we  are  about  to  inaugurate." 

The  President.  "  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  motion 
of  the  gentleman  from  Missouri,  Mr.  Hogan,  that  the  United 
States  Commission,  appointed  to  investigate  the  subject  of 
the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  be  invited  to  take 
seats  upon  this  platform." 

The  question  was  put  and  the  motion  carried  unanimously. 


52 


The  Secretary  then  read  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Order  of  Business,  as  follows  : 

To  the  President  and  Delegates  of  the  Mississippi  River  Im- 
provement Convention  : 

GENTLEMEN  : — The  Committee  on  Order  of  Business  re- 
spectfully recommend  the  following  programme  for  the  action 
of  the  Convention : 

First — Prayer. 

Second — Permanent  organization . 

Third — Reception  of  communications  to  the  Convention. 

Fourth — Reception  of  resolutions  to  be  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions  without  debate. 

Fifth — The  parliamentary  rules  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  to  govern  the  Convention. 

Sixth — Speeches  limited  to  ten  minutes  unless  extended  by 
the  Convention. 

Seventh — That  each  State  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  be 
entitled,  upon  all  reports  and  resolutions  which  may  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Convention  by  the  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
and  all  amendments  which  may  be  offered  to  the  same,  to 
cast  the  same  number  of  votes  as  they  respectively  do  in  the 
election  of  President  of  the  United  States,  to  wit : 


Alabama * 10 

Arkansas 6 

Illinois 21 

Indiana 15 

Iowa 11 

Kansas 5 

Kentucky 12 

Louisiana 8 

Minnesota 5 


Mississippi 8 

Missouri 15 

Nebraska 3 

Ohio 22 

Tennessee 12 

Texas 8 

West  Virginia 5 

Wisconsin.. 10 

Pennsylvania 29 


The  States  of  New  York   and   Michigan  each   four  votes, 
and  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Dakota  one  vote  each. 


J.  M.  REYNOLDS, 

Secretary. 


C.  H.  HARUIN, 

Chairman. 


The  report  was  adopted  unanimously. 

The  President.     "Is  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Or- 
ganization ready  to  report?" 


53 

Mr.  Logan  H.  Koots,  of  Arkansas : 

"MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  or  THE  CONVENTION: 
On  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization 
I  would  state  they  considered  very  earnestly  the  import- 
ance of  permanency  after  this  Convention  should  cease,  but 
they  decided  that  it  was  not  their  province,  but  that  that 
should  be  left  to  the  Convention,  to  decide  through  what 
machinerv  they  will  prosecute  the  important  work  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  Convention.  There  were  many 
names  presented  before  them  for  consideration,  as  the  officers 
of  this  Convention, — more  indeed,  I  believe,  than  were  pre- 
sented to  either  National  Convention  of  the  Republican  or 
Democratic  parties  for  nomination  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States.  [Laughter.]  But  they  have  selected  and 
unanimously  report  the  following  list : 

"For  President  of  this  Convention,  the  Hon.  Mark  H. 
Dunnell,  of  Minnesota. 

"They  have  recommended  a  Vice-President  from  each  of 
the  States  and  Territories  who  responded  to  the  roll-call  upon 
yesterday,  their  names  being  as  follows  : 

Arkansas — John  D.  Adams. 

Iowa — George  W.  Jones. 

Kentucky — Eugene  Underwood. 

Indiana — M.  M.  Hurley. 

Louisiana — George  C.  Waddell. 

Tennessee — H.  T.  Elliot. 

Kansas — D.  G.  Stock  well. 

Minnesota — O.  C.  Merriman. 

Nebraska — C.  S.  Chase. 

Dakota— J.  T.  Pettigrew. 

Wisconsin — William  Wilson. 

New  York — B.  S.  Osborne. 

Pennsylvania — R.  C.  Gray. 

Texas— W.  H.  Fleppen. 

Ohio — S.  F.  Covington. 

Illinois — H.  Fullerton. 

Missouri — James  S.  Rollins. 

Michigan — Philo  Parsons. 

Mississippi — H.  F.  Simrall. 

Alabama — Thomas  B.  Taylor. 

New  Mexico — Governor  Sheldon. 

West  Virginia — Alexander  Campbell. 


54 

"  They  further  recommend  for  Secretary  of  this  Conven- 
ton,  George  L.  Wright. 

"  For  Assistant  Secretaries,  Frank  Gaiennie  and  Nicholas 
Bell. 

44 All  of  which  is  submitted  as  the  unanimous  report  of  this 
committee.  The  formal  document  will  be  submitted  when 
written  by  our  Secretary,  Mr.  Caldwell,  of  Kansas." 

A  delegate  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report,  and  it  was 
adopted  unanimously. 

Mr.  Roots.  "I  move  that  a  committee  of  three  be  ap- 
pointed to  wait  upon  Gen.  Dunnell  and  escort  him  to  the 
chair." 

The  motion  was  carried. 

The  President.  "  I  appoint  John  F.  Phillips,  of  Missouri, 
Mr.  Campbell,  of  West  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Roots,  of  Arkansas." 

The  committee  conducted  the  President  elect  to  the  plat- 
form. 

The  President  pro-tern.  "I  have  the  honor  to  introduce  to 
you ,  Hon .  Mark  H.  Dunnell ,  of  Minnesota,  permanent  President 
of  this  Convention.  Please  permit  me  to  state  that  from  long 
association  with  him  in  Congress,  I  here  fully  endorse  the 
action  of  the  Convention,  and  say  that  you  could  not  have 
made  a  wiser  choice."  [Applause.] 

The  President  then  said  : 

"  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  :  In  accepting  the  po- 
sition you  have  assigned  me  in  this  Convention,  allow  me  to 
return  to  you  my  sincerest  thanks  and  assure  you  that  it  shall 
be  my  endeavor  to  preside  over  your  deliberations  impartially 
and  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  We  have  met  here  from  twenty 
States  of  the  Union,  besides  the  Territories  represented, — del- 
egates fronYjthe  Gulf  to  the'sources  of  the  Mississippi, — to 
deliberate,  to  vote,  to  resolve  upon  questions  of  exceeding 
interest,  not  only  to  that  section  of  country  which  we  here  repre- 
sent, but  also  to  the  entire  Union.  We  are  here  to  consider 


55 

how  we  may  the  better  develop  the  mighty  resources  which  a 
good  Providence  has  placed  within  our  reach  in  this  mighty 
valley  of  the  Mississippi.  '[Applause.]  The  questions  which 
will  come  before  us  are  intensely  practical.  They  lie  out  be- 
fore us  at  once.  We  are  the  great  producing  section  of  the 
republic,  and  the  question  which  interests  us  as  delegates, 
the  question  which  interests  those  we  represent,  is,  How 
shall  these  vast  products  find  the  markets  of  the  world  with 
the  least  possible  loss  in  transportation.  [Applause.]  We 
find  here  in  our  great  Valley,  the  mighty  Mississippi,  which 
stretches  from  the  Gulf  all  along  to  its  source,  fed  by  great 
tributaries,  whose  representation  is  made  here  in  your  presence 
at  this  time. 

"  How  shall  these  waters  best  subserve  the  great  purposes 
for  which  they  were  given  to  us?  Shall  these  waters  be 
unvexed  by  the  steamboat  and  the  barge  ?  Shall  they  be  vocal 
with  protestations  against  all  other  modes  of  transportation? 
Shall  these  waters  be  subservient  to  the  mighty  interests  of 
this  mighty  valley?  Within  a  few  years  the  Mississippi 
Valley  has  aided  very  materially  in  solving  questions  which 
interested  the  patriots  of  America.  Out  from  this  valley  went 
supplies  that  the  markets  of  the  world  demanded,  that  gave  to 
us  that  balance  of  trade  which  has  brought  on  all  the  attendant 

o 

blessings  that  have  come  from  it.  The  balance  of  trade  was 
given  to  us  by  the  products  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  [Loud 
applause.]  Out  from  this  valley  went  the  source  of  our 
present  national  credit ;  and  from  this  region  of  the  republic 
went  the  solution  of  questions  which  were  beyond  the  reach  of 
statesmanship. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  there  are  others  here  to 
present  the  arguments  which  come  from  an  array  of  statistics  ; 
there  are  others  here  to  be  heard  to-day.  Resolutions  are  to 
be  offered,  to  be  followed  by  debate,  and  the  great  work  of 
this  Convention  is  with  you. 

"  In  closing,  let  me  again  thank  you  for  the  honor,  and  let 
me  make  this  suggestion  :  That  the  higher  success  will  be 


56 

reached  by  this  Convention  if  we  shall  preserve  a  large  degree 
of  order  ;  and  it  will  be  my  endeavor  as  your  presiding  officer — 
aided,  as  I  no  doubt  shall  be  by  you — so  to  preserve  the  ordet 
of  this  Convention,  that  when  it  shall  have  closed  we  may  not 
be  led  to  say  that  its  results  were  less  successful  than  they 
ought  to  have  been,  because  its  proceedings  were  not  con- 
ducted in  order.  [Applause.]  Then,  gentlemen,  I  shall  ask 
for  a  high  measure  of  order  in  the  midst  of  these  exceedingly 
interesting  deliberations."  [Loud  applause.] 

The  President.  "It  will  now  be  in  order  to  present 
communications  to  the  Convention,  according  to  the  order  of 
business  which  you  have  adopted  for  this  forenoon." 

Mr.  Taylor,  of  Alabama.  "  I  have  in  my  pocket  a  plan 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributa- 
ries. The  main  plan  is  this  :  I  believe  the  bed  of  the  river 
is  a  chain  of  slack-water  lakes,  separated  by  shoals.  My  plan 
is  to  cut  a  canal  through  those  shoals  to  the  center  of  the 
river,  or  thereabouts,  so  as  to  connect  the  slack-water  lakes, 
so  that  the  best  navigation  can  be  secured  to  the  Gulf.  I 
believe,  sir,  it  is  perfectly  practicable.  I  believe  when  I  can 
get  the  engineers  of  the  United  States  to  understand  me  fully 
that  they  will  agree  to  it.  With  your  permission  I  will  lay 
my  plan  before  this  Convention." 

The  President.  "  Refer  it  to  the  committee.  The  gentle- 
man will  forward  any  communication  he  sees  fit  to  make.  If 
I  am  correctly  informed  these  communications  are  to  be 
received  without  debate.  I  am  informed  by  the  Secretary  he 
has  a  communication  in  his  possession  which,  under  the  order 
of  business  will  now  be  in  order." 

The   following  communication  from  the  President  of  the 
Mississippi  River  Commission  was  then  read  : 


OFFICE  <M    MI  — I  —  MM-I  RIVER  COMMISSION, 
STEAMER  "GENERAL  BARNARD." 

Oct.  17,  1881. 


To  the  President  of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo.: 

DEAR  SIR:  It  has  been  my  intention  to  be  pn^riit  at  tin-  incrtmgsof  your 

Convention,  in  order  to  afford  any  information  that  mi^ht   lx;  drsiml  with 


57 

I 

regard  to  the  plans,  prospects  and  expectations  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver 
Commission. 

I  find,  however,  that  imperative  official  engagements  will  require  my 
presence  elsewhere.  I  have,  therefore,  thought  proper  to  submit  the  fol- 
lowing statement  in  writing,  which  may  be  presented  to  the  Convention, 
should  it  be  deemed  desirable  to  do  so. 

Under  the  organic  act  of  June  28,  1879,  it  was  made  the  duty  of  this 
Commission : 

First — To  direct  and  complete  such  surveys  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
between  the  Head  of  the  Passes,  near  the  mouth,  and  its  headwaters,  as 
were  then  in  progress;  and  to  make  such  additional  surveys  and  examina- 
tions of  the  river  and  its  tributaries  as  the  Commission  might  deem  neces- 
sary. 

Second — To  consider  and  mature  such  plan  or  plans  as  will  correct,  per- 
manently locate  and  deepen  the  channel  and  protect  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river;  improve  and  give  safety  and  ease  to  navigation;  prevent 
destructive  floods,  and  promote  and  facilitate  commerce  and  the  postal 
service;  and,  with  such  plans,  to  prepare  and  submit  estimates  of  the  cost 
of  executing  the  work. 

Third — To  report  specifically  upon  the  practicability,  feasibility  and 
probable  cost  of  three  certain  methods  or  plans  of  improvement,  designated 
in  the  act  as  the  "  jetty  system,"  the  "  levee  system,"  and  the  '•  outlet 
system." 

Fourth — The  Commission  was  also  authorized,  prior  to  the  completion 
of  all  necessary  surveys  and  examinations,  to  submit  plans  and  estimates 
of  cost  of  such  immediate  or  initial  works,  constituting  a  part  of  the  general 
system  of  works  recommended,  as  might  be  advantageously  begun  at  once. 

In  the  first  report  of  the  Commission,  submitted  in  February  of  last 
year,  the  so-called  systems  of  improvement  mentioned  in  the  law  were  dis- 
cussed, viz. :  the  "  outlet  system,"  the  ''levee  system."  and  the  -jetty 
system." 

The  outlet  system,  being  one  of  diffusion  and  waste,  and  not  of  concen- 
tration, did  not  commend  itself  to  our  judgment.  It  has  been  claimed  that 
outlets,  either  natural  or  artificial,  which  shall  draw  off  the  flood-waters  of 
the  river  and  convey  them  away  by  independent  routes  to  the  sea,  will  tend 
to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  destructive  floods  by  supplying  additional 
avenues  for  their  escape.  The  general  proposition  that  if  a  river  cannot 
carry  its  own  waters  within  its  own  banks,  outlet  channels  will  supply  a 
remedy  against  overflow,  certainly  sounds  reasonable  at  first  hearing.  It  is 
true,  however,  in  certain  cases  only.  It  is  not  generally  true  of  sedimen- 
tary streams,  flowing  through  alluvial  lands,  a'nd  it  is  not  true  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  The  character  and  useful  magnitude  of  such  a  stream  are 
determined  by  its  behavior  in  times  of  flood ;  and  there  is  no  more  certain 
way  to  dwarf  its  dimensions  and  destroy  its  navigation  than  by  depleting 
it  of  its  flood-waters.  Once  check  its  velocity  by  outlets,  or  by  any  other 
means,  thus  impairing  its  power  to  cany  its  load  of  solid  matter  to  the  sea, 


58 

i 

and  the  inevitable  result  is  that  a  deposit  of  sediment  takes  place,  and 
the  bed  of  the  stream  is  raised.  The  consequences  are  that  the  sectional  area 
and  flood  -carrying  capacity  are  both  diminished  and  flood-surface  raised. 
Surely  the  last  condition  of  that  stream  is  worse  than  the  first,  for  it  is 
-mailer  than  before  and  less  able  to  retain  its  flood-waters  within  its  own 
banks.  If  new  outlets  are  made  to  meet  this  contingency,  the  flood-cur- 
rent is  still  further  checked,  and  the  bed  is  raised  higher  by  increased 
deposits. 

It  is  submitted,  therefore,  that  the  permanent  effect  of  outlets  is  to  in- 
jure the  navigation  and  increase  the  frequency  and  magnitude  of  floods. 

With  regard  to  a  system  of  improvement  by  means  of  levees,  it  may  be 
said,  that  while  levees  are,  upon  a  large  portion  of  the  river,  necessary  to 
prevent  destruction  to  life  and  property  by  overflow,  and  while  they  en- 
hance the  safety  and  ease  of  navigation,  and  facilitate  trade  and  commerce 
by  affording  convenient  landing-places  above  the  reach  of  flood,  and  while 
they  aid  and  promote  the  postal  service  by  the  protection  they  afford  to  the 
roads  and  railroads  in  their  rear,  upon  which  that  service  is  conducted,  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  a  levee  system  cannot  be  regarded  as  a 
necessary  auxiliary  to  any  judicious  plan  designed  for  channel  improvement 
only.  There  is  little  doubt  that  levees  do  exert  some  direct  action  in  en- 
larging the  bed  of  the  river  during  those  periods  of  flood,  when,  by  prevent- 
ing the  overflow  of  adjacent  lands,  they  actually  cause  the  water  to  rise  to 
a  higher  level  within  the  river-bed  than  it  would  attain  if  not  thus  restrained ; 
for  the  simple  reason  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  deeper  the  water 
in  the  bed  of  a  stream  the  greater  will  be  the  velocity  and  t  lie  greater  its  scour- 
ing power.  Levees  are  regarded,  therefore,  as  a  desirable,  though  not  an 
essential,  adjunct  in  the  method  of  improvement  recommended  by  the  Coui- 
mission.  They  are  necessary  to  prevent  destructive  floods;  they  are  desira- 
ble and  useful  for  other  purposes  already  stated  ;  they  arc  desirable,  although 
not  necessary,  for  purposes  of  channel  improvement.  The  Commission,  in 
its  first  report,  recommended  that  all  gaps  in  existing  levees,  between  Cairo 
and  New  Orleans,  be  closed. 

It  may  be  said,  in  this  connection,  that  some  members  of  this  Commis- 
sion attach  more,  and  others  perhaps  less,  importance  to  levees  as  a  factor 
in  the  problem  of  channel  improvement  than  that  above  indicated. 

The  plan  of  improvement  recommended  by  the  Commission  is  based 
upon  the  simple,  and,  I  believe,  unquestioned  fact  that  the  bad  navigation 
of  the  river  is  caused  by  tin-  caving  and  em-ion  of  its  hanks,  and  the  exces- 
-ive  width-,  and  the  hars  and  shoal-  rc-uliing  directly  therefrom. 

Two  well-known  condition-  characteri/c  the  entire  length  of  the  river 
below  Cairo:  Fir-t.  that  l>:rd  shoals  and  hars  and  dangerous  navigation  are 
always  accompanied  by  a  low-water  width  exceeding  3,000  feet;  and,  sec- 
ond, that  \\herevcr  the  \\idth  does  not  exceed  3,000  feet  there  is  a  good 
channel  the  year  round.  In  other  words,  had  navigation  is  produced  by  a 
wide  river,  and  good  navigation  by  a  narrow  one.  The  same  principle  ap- 
plies to  the  portion  of  the  river  between  the  mouth-  of  the  Mi-souri  and  the 


59 

Ohio  rivers.  The  evident  remedies  for  the  existing  evils  are:  First,  to  stop 
further  enlargement  by  protecting  the  caving  banks;  and,  second,  to  narrow 
the  stream  to  a  suitable  and  approximately  uniform  width  at  all  places  where 
the  widths  are  excessive  and  the  navigation  bad.  Wherever  necessary, 
therefore,  the  caving  banks  will  be  graded  to  a  proper  slope  and  protected 
by  suitable  revetments  against  further  erosion. 

Where  the  widths  are  too  great  the  channel  will  be  narrowed  by  forces 
developed  in  the  stream  itself,  through  the  agency  of  high  permeable  dikes 
placed  either  longitudinally  or  transversely  to  the  channel,  as  circumstan- 
ces shall  require.  By  these  light  open  works,  constructed  largely  of  poles, 
wire  and  brush,  the  area  to  be  raised  will  be  converted  into  a  series  of  silt- 
ing basins,  within  which  the  water,  constantly  flowing  through  the  barriers 
with  diminished  velocity,  will  deposit  its  heavier  materials.  In  this  way 
the  bed  of  the  stream  will  be  gradually  raised  during  the  high-water 
season,  forming  new  banks  and  developing  new  shore -lines  for  the  amended 
channel. 

These  methods  of  improvement  have  been  successfully  applied  at 
various  points  on  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  are  in  no  sense 
experimental,  except  in  the  details  of  construction. 

For  beginning  the  work  projected  by  this  Commission,  and  for  which 
the  sum  of  $1.000.000  was  appropriated  at  the  last  session  of  Congress,  an 
efficient  equipment  has  been  ordered,  and  it  is  expected  that  active  opera- 
tions will  be  started  within  the  coming  month,  upon  the  Plum  Point  reach, 
above  Memphis,  and  the  Lake  Providence  reach,  above  Vicksburg.  These 
two  reaches  constitute  an  aggregate  length  of  about  seventy  miles  of  the 
worst  navigation  below  Cairo.  The  works  are  expected  to  secure  a  low- 
water  depth  of  ten  feet,  with  possibilities  considerably  beyond  that  limit. 

Although  this  Commission  have  given  especial  attention  and  study  to 
the  requirements  of  navigation  on  the  main  river  below  Cairo,  they  have 
carefully  inspected  the  plans  of  improvement  now  in  process  of  execution 
by  the  Engineer  Bureau  of  the  War  Department  upon  that  portion  of  this 
stream  between  Cairo  and  St.  Paul,  and  are  of  the  opinion  that  their  com- 
pletion will  establish  a  low-water  navigation  of  not  less  than  eight  feet  be- 
tween Cairo  and  St.  Louis,  and  not  less  than  six  feet  between  St.  Louis  and 
St.  Paul,  with  capabilities  in  both  cases  of  greater  depths,  through  an  ex- 
tension and  enlargement  of  the  works. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  work  thus  undertaken  is  one  of 
unparalleled  magnitude;  that  great  difficulties  are  to  be  encountered:  that 
it  is  only  by  patience  and  perse verence,  and  upon  the  stepping-stones  of  mis- 
takes corrected,  that  success  can  be  hoped  for.  and  that  the  final  result  will 
depend  as  much  on  the  support  and  co-operation  of  the  people  as  on  the 
efforts  of  the  Commission,  or  other  agents  of  the  Government. 

Three  members  of  the  Commission,  Judge  R.  S.Taylor,  of  Fort  Wayne. 
Ind.;  Mr.  B.  M.  Harrod,  of  Xew  Orleans,  La.,  and  Major  Chas.  R.  Suter. 
Corps  of  Engineers,  will  be  in  St.  Louis  during  the  Convention,  and  they 
have  been  constituted  a  committee  to  represent  the  views  of  the  Commis- 


60 

sion,  should  your  Convention  desire  a  conference,  or  further  information, 
beyond  that  set  forth  in  this  coininuniration. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Q.  A.  GILLMORE, 
Lieut.-Col.  of  Engineers  and  Bvt.  Maj.-Gen.,  President  of  Commission. 

The  President.  "I  hold  in  my  hand  a  communication 
from  James  B.  Eads.  It  will  now  be  read." 

The  following  was  then  read  : 

ST.  Louis,  October  18,  1881. 

To  the  Executive    Committee  of  the  Mississippi  River  Im- 
provement Convention  : 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  kind  invitation  to 
address  the  Convention  at  its  coming  meeting  upon  the  im- 
provement of  the  Mississippi  river. 

I  greatly  regret  being  compelled  to  forego  the  pleasure  of 
accepting  this  invitation.  On  the  23d  inst.  I  sail  from  New 
Orleans  for  Mexico  ;  and  were  I  to  postpone  sailing  upon  that 
date  I  would  be  forced  to  abandon  the  trip  during  this  year, 
as  I  could  not  again  secure  a  vessel  in  time  to  enable  me  to 
carry  out  the  purposes  of  my  visit  and  return  at  the  date 
when  my  presence  in  this  country  is  imperatively  demanded. 

I  now  go  to  Mexico  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  Isth- 
mus of  Tehuantepec,  arid  inspecting  in  person  the  line  of  the 
proposed  ship  railway. 

I  need  hardly  assure  you  of  my  deep  interest  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  improvement  of  that  great  river  which  has 
been  the  study  of  my  life,  and  if  any  views  I  could  present 
would  add,  however  little,  to  the  great  good  which  the  Con- 
vention will  doubtless  accomplish,  I  should  be  most  happy. 

Although  I  will  be  unable  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the 
Convention,  I  will  still  be  engaged  in  a  work  which  is  closely 
connected  with  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and 
the  successful  consummation  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  untold 
value  to  the  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

The  removal  of  all  obstructions  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  opened  to  our  commerce  the  markets  of  the  East,  the 
ship  railway  will  open  to  it  the  markets  of  the  West,  ;m<l  will 
in  effect  be  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi  river  into  the  Pacific 
ocean. 

Hence,  while  I  cannot  be  with  you,  I  will  still  feel  that  1 


61 

am  working  with  you  for  the  accomplishment  of  an  end  which 
will  result  in  the"  greatest  benefit  to  our  commerce  and  the 
increased  wealth  and  happiness  of  our  people. 

I  am,  very  respectfully  yours, 

JAS.  B.  EADS. 

The  President.  "I  have  a  letter  from  Hon.  Randall  L. 
Gibson,  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from 
Louisiana,  and  Senator-elect,  written  from  Paris,  which  will 
now  be  read." 

The  letter  was  read  as  follows  : 

HOTEL  D' OXFORD  ET  CAMBRIDGE,  > 
13  RUE  D'ALGIER,  PARIS.  5 

HENRY  LOUREY,  Chairman. 

SIR  :  I  thank  you  for  your  courteous  invitation  to  attend 
the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  to  be  held  in 
St.  Louis  on  the  26th  inst.  I  sincerely  regret  my  inability 
to  attend. 

To  all  those  who  have  sought  to  secure  recognition  of  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries  from  the  National  Govern- 
ment, and  adequate  appropriations  for  their  improvement,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  say  how  indispensable  is  the  cordial 
union  of  the  efforts  of  all  the  Representatives  in  Congress 
from  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  all  the  friends  of  river  im- 
provement. 

Without  harmony  and  union  and  great  energy  nothing 
can  be  accomplished.  This  is  not  a  new  question,  and  before 
proceeding  further,  or  taking  a  new  departure,  it  is  import- 
ant that  the  members  of  your  Convention  should  know  what 
has  been  done  and  what  is  proposed  in  Congress. 

The  final  measure  for  a  scientific  and  comprehensive  treat- 
ment of  the  Mississippi  river  was  proposed  in  the  Forty- 
fourth  Congress,  June,  1876,  and  the  speech  made  by  Capt. 
J.  B.  Eads  before  the  Committee  on  Commerce  in  support  of 
it  marked  the  commencement  of  the  struggle.  You  will  find 
it  annexed  to  some  remarks  of  mine  on  the  subject  in  the 
Congressional  Record  of  February  5,  1879. 

After  several  years  of  constant  struggle,  the  bill  offered 
May  10,  1879,  became  a  law,  having  been  approved  June  28, 
1879.  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  act  entitled  "An  Act  to 
provide  for  the  appointment  of  a  Mississippi  River  Commis- 


62 

sion  for  the  improvement  of  said  river  from  the  Head  of 
the  Passes,  near  the  mouth,  to  its  headwaters."  Section  4 
confers  the  powers  upon  the  Commission.  You  will  find 
them  ample  for  the  purpose.  I  think  that  an  effort  should 
be  directed  towards  securing  from  the  executive  branch  of  the 
Government  intelligent  supervision  of  the  labors  of  the  Com- 
mission and  recommendations  in  favor  of  adequate  appropria- 
tions. The  President  may  make  and  unmake  the  Commis- 
sion. Everything  depends  on  the  intelligence  and  energy 
with  which  the  Commission  performs  its  duty  and  the  Presi- 
dent may  see  the  law  faithfully  executed.  Much  of  course 
will  depend  upon  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  is  especially 
charged  with  the  supervision  of  the  work.  You  may  ask 
why  it  may  be  deemed  necessary  to  establish  a  special  Com- 
mission for  the  Mississippi  river?  I  answer  that  the  nature 
of  the  work  itself  required  a  systematic  plan,  embracing 
every  part  of  the  river  and  all  its  phenomena.  All  the 
parts  of  this  great  river  are  closely  connected ;  like  the 
members  of  a  living  organism,  they  are  mutually  interde- 
pendent. The  work  that  might  confer  great  advantages  at 
one  point  might  inflict  intolerable  injury  to  another.  The 
effort  to  remove  the  shallow  waters,  or  sand-bar  that  causes 
them,  at  Providence,  will  merely  transfer  them  to  a  point 
lower  down,  flooding  the  country  below  in  seasons  of  high 
water  and  presenting  the  same  obstacles  when  the  river  is 
low,  unless  the  plan  be  so  comprehensive  as  to  include  the 
lower  as  well  as  the  higher  sections  of  the  river.  Every  im- 
provement of  the  tributaries,  every  channel  deepened,  every 
furrow  made  and  farm  drained  concentrates  all  the  more 
rapidly  the  rain-fall  of  the  vast  region  extending  from  the 
Alleghenies  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  precipitates  it  into 
the  great  basin  from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf. 

o 

The  report  of  the  Commission  shows  that  this  vast  basin, 
overspreading  its  banks  owing  to  these  causes,  is  gradually 
but  surely  filling  up,  having  increased  in  width  about  seventy 
per  cent,  since  the  first  survey,  and  growing  more  shallow 
year  by  year,  until,  as  the  lamented  Garfield  said  in  his  letter 
of  acceptance,  it  has  become  a  " terror  to  the  people  living 
upon  its  banks,  and  the  navigation  more  ha/ardous  and  expen- 
sive and  its  trade  and  commerce  more  and  more  insecure." 

Into  this  great  basin,  or  inland  sea,  empty  forty-three 
mighty  rivers,  while  the  distance  from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf  is 


63 

only  about  500  miles  in  a  direct  line.  By  the  river  it  is  about 
1,100  miles,  presenting  a  coast  line  of  over  2,200  miles. 

While  the  tributaries  should  be  improved,  it  must  be  appa- 
rent that  the  main  trunk-line  should  not  be  neglected  ;  that 
that  they  are  so  intimately  connected  as  to  be  interdependent. 

In  the  second  place,  a  Commission  was  necessary  to  secure 
the  support  of  any  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  The  fact  is,  the  Mississippi  is  in  nobody's  district. 
No  Kepresentative  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  secure  appropriations 
for  it.  Any  appropriation  to  be  expended  in  any  one  place  on 
the  Mississippi  river  could  be  lost,  for  it  involved  the  attempt 
at  piecemeal  work,  which,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  as  I 
have  shown,  could  amount  to  nothing.  And  in  point  of  fact, 
it  was  only  after  the  Commission  was  established  and  presented 
its  plan  that  we  were  able  to  induce  Congress  to  vote  a  rea- 
sonable appropriation.  Before  that  we  could  get  nothing.  We 
were  divided  in  our  views  ;  each  member  had  his  own  plans  ; 
there  was  a  diversity  of  opinion.  Nothing  could  be  done,  and 
nothing  was  done.  The  Commission  suited  us  all,  and  we  got 
more  for  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries  the  last  ses- 
sion of  the  last  Congress  than  in  any  half-dozen  sessions  before. 
In  fact,  it  was  the  first  time  that  Congress  had  ever  recognized 
the  claims  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, — every  part  of  it. 

The  Commission  having  the  power  under  the  existing  law 
and  ample  appropriations,  will  do  their  work  wisely  and  well. 
If  they  do,  Congress  will  vote  every  dollar  you  can  fairly  ask. 
If  they  do  not,  it  will  be  broken  up,  and  we  will  fall  back  upon 
the  old  plan,  by  which  the  members  of  Congress  would  secure 
a  small  appropriation  each  for  that  part  of  the  river,  or  more 
likely  for  its  tributary  in  his  own  district,  or  rival  towns  and 
cities;  or  steamboat  interests  will  send  their  "parliamentary 
solicitor"  or  lobbyist  to  procure  an  appropriation  for  some 
little  local  improvement.  Our  efforts  should  be  to  uphold  the 
Mississippi  River  Commission  ;  if  necessary,  to  extend  its 
powers  and  to  increase  its  members  ;  we  should  see  that  the 
members  are  adequately  paid,  and  that  the  best  men  in  the 
country  are  kept  upon  it. 

I  hope  your  Convention  will  have  a  successful  session.  We 
need  an  earnest  and  enlightened  public  sentiment  to  sustain 
the  effort  of  your  Representatives  in  Congress. 

Yours,  faithfully, 

R.  L.  GIBSON. 


The  President.  "I  have  a  letter  from  Hon .  James  B.  Beck, 
one  of  the  Senators  from  the  State  of  Kentucky,  which  will 
now  be  read." 

The  following  letter  was  read  : 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  October  15,  1881.  5 

GEORGE  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR  :  My  failure  to  answer  your  kind  letter  inviting 
me  to  address  the  River  Convention  October  26th,  was  because 
I  wanted  to  be  there,  and  could  not  see  my  way  clear  to  accept, 
because  of  this  session.  It  is 'now  clear  that  I  cannot  be  with 
you.  I  regret  it.  I  regard  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  from  St.  Paul  to  the  mouth,  and  of  the  great  tributaries 
of  your  great  river,  as  one  of  the  most  important  questions  now 
before  the  country.  Competing  highways  alone  make  cheap 
transportation  possible,  and  free  water-ways  make  railroad 
combinations  very  difficult.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  be  heard  on 
that  question  here  next  winter,  as  I  can't  be  with  you  now. 
Yours,  truly,  J.  B.  BECK. 

The  President.  "  A  letter  will  now  be  read  from  Hon. 
A.  D.  Gorman,  one  of  the  Senators  from  the  State  of  Mary- 
land." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  following : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  7,  1881. 

Mr  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  invitation  to  attend  the  Convention  to  be  held 
in  your  State  on  the  26th  of  October,  to  deliberate  on  the 
question  of  improving  the  condition  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  navigable  tributaries. 

I  regret  very  much  to  say  that  my  engagements  are  such 
as  to  make  it  impossible  for  me  to  accept  the  same. 

The  question  of  cheap  transportation  is  one  that  concerns 
every  section  of  our  common  country.  That  the  improve- 
ment of  the  great  interior  water-ways  will  go  far  towards  the 
solution  of  the  problem,  no- one  who  has  considered  the  sub- 
ject, will  for  a  moment  question  ;  what  other  steps  are  neces- 
sary are  not  so  well  defined. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  hear  the  views  of  your  representa- 


65 

tive  men,  but  trust,  however,  to  receive  from  you  a  copy  of 
your  proceedings  and  debates. 

Thanking  you  and  your  committee  for  your  kind  invita- 
tion, I  am  yours,  truly, 

A.  D.  GORMAN, 

United  States  Senator,  Maryland. 

The  President.  "  A  letter  will  now  be  read  from  Hon. 
Abram  S.  Hewitt,  of  New  York." 

The  Secretary  read  the  following : 

NEW  YORK,  September  21,  1881. 
HENRY  LOUREY,' ESQ.,  Chairman,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  invitation  to  attend  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement 
Convention,  to  be  held  on  the  26th  of  October,  1881.  I  regret 
that  the  condition  of  my  health  will  not  permit  me  to  be  present. 
I  appreciate  fully  the  value  and  necessity  of  making  the  Missis- 
sippi river  and  its  navigable  tributaries  thoroughly  efficient 
highways  for  commerce.  I  have  always  been  in  favor  of  their 
improvement  upon  a  well-devised  system,  which  will  insure 
successful  and  permanent  results.  I  am  equally  opposed  to 
all  propositions  designed  for  the  promotion  of  private  interests 
or  to  furnish  jobs  for  contractors,  and  I  trust  that  the  results 
of  your  deliberations  will  be  to  put  in  intelligible  form  some 
plan  of  improvement  which  will  secure  the  favorable  opinion 
of  competent  engineers.  You  may  count,  therefore,  upon  my 
cordial  co-operation  in  Congress  and  out  of  it,  in  any  move- 
ment which  shall  tend  to  make  our  natural  highways  a  check 
upon  the  railways  of  the  country,  which,  until  they  are 
properly  controlled  by  Government  supervision,  are  liable  to 
be  used  merely  for  private  ends,  and  not  for  the  public  wel- 
fare . 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

ABRAM  S.  HEWITT. 

The  President.  "  A  letter  will  now  be  read  from  Hon.  B: 
F.  Jonas,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Louisiana." 

5 


66 

The  letter  was  read  as  follows  : 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  October  17,  1881.  J 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary,  St.  Louis. 
£$  DEAR  SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  postal  of  the  13th,  and 
also  received  your  invitation  in  September. 

I  have  delayed  answering  because  of  the  uncertainty  as  to 
the  duration  of  the  session  of  the  Senate. 

If  it  should  adjourn  on  Saturday  next  (as  seems  probable), 
or  in  time  for  the  Convention,  I  shall  be  present,  as  I  feel  the 
deepest  interest  in  the  subject  of  its  deliberations. 

Very  truly  yours,  B.  F.  JONAS. 

The  President.     "  A  letter  will  be  read  from  Hon.  Thomas 
L.  James,  Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States." 
The  Secretary  read  the  following : 

POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT,      > 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  September  22d,  1881.  5 
DEAR  SIR  :    I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  invitation  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the  delib- 
erations of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention  on 
the  26th  of  October  next,  and  to  say,  in  reply,  that  I  regret 
my  official  duties  will  prevent  me  from  being  with  you  on  that 
occasion.     Very  respectfully, 

THOMAS  L.  JAMES, 

Postmaster-  General. 

The  President.  "A  letter  has  been  received  from  Hon. 
George  B.  Loring,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  which  will 
be  read." 

The  following  was  read  by  the  Secretary  : 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 
WASHINGTON,  October  15,  1881 


: 


DEAR  SIR  :  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  take  part 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  River  Convention  to  be  held  in 
your  city  on  the  26th  inst,  as  I  consider  its  object  a  very  im- 
portant one,  and  I  regret  that  my  engagements  for  that  day 
make  it  impossible  for  me  to  attend. 

Very  respectfully, 

GEORGE  B.  LOHING, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


67 

The  President.     «*  A  letter  will  be  read  from  Hon.  Joseph 
R.  Hawley,  Senator  from  the  State  of  Connecticut." 
The  Secretary  next  read  the  following : 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE,  ) 

WASHINGTON,  October  15,  1881.  > 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  thank  you  for  the  invitation  to  the  River 
Convention,  October  26th,  and  should  find  it  both  agreeable 
and  instructive  to  be  there,  but  that  is  impossible,  and  I  must 
confine  myself  to  the  newspaper  reports. 

Yours,  truly,  Jos.  R.  HAWLEY, 

United  States  Senator,  Connecticut. 

The  President.     "  A  letter  will  be  read  from  Hon.  R.  G. 
Horr,  member  of  Congress  from  the  State  of  Michigan." 
Mr.  Horr  wrote  as  follows  : 

EAST  SAGINAW,  October  16,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Secretary. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  kind  invitation  reached  me  in  due  time, 
and  I  now  write  to  say  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  be 
with  you  on  the  26th  inst.  I  need  not  say  that  the  object  of 
your  meeting  meets  my  hearty  approval,  and  I  can  assure  you 
that  the  improvement  of  your  river  will  ever  receive  my  active 
support.  Yours,  most  truly, 

R."G.  HORR. 

The  President.  "  A  letter  has  been  received  from  Hon. 
Thomas  Updegraff,  a  member  of  Congress  from  the  Third  Dis- 
trict of  Iowa." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  following  letter : 

MCGREGOR,  IOWA,  October  18,  1881. 
GEORGE  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  St.  Louis. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Great  as  I  esteem  the  importance  of  improv- 
ing and  maintaining  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  its 
tributaries,  circumstances  prevent  my  attending  the  River 
Convention  soon  to  be  held  at  your  city.  Wishing  the  Con- 
vention abundant  success,  and  thanking  you  for  your  kind- 
ness, 

I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

THOMAS  UPDEGRAFF. 


The  President.  "  There  are  no  other  communications  on 
the  table  to  be  presented  to  the  Convention/' 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  *'  Mr.  President,  at  the  request 
of  several  gentlemen,  members  of  this  Convention,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  General  Gillmore,  President 
of  the  Mississippi  River  Commission,  I  respectfully  suggest 
that  at  this  time  it  would  be  proper  for  this  Convention  to 
hear  from  the  delegated  members  of  that  Commission  who 
are  now  present,  and,  as  General  Gillmore  says,  will  be  pre- 
pared to  present  to  this  Convention  their  thoughts  on  this 
subject.  I  think  the  members  of  this  Convention  would  be 
glad  to  hear  from  at  least  one  of  the  members  of  that  Com- 
mission now ;  I  therefore  make  that  motion,  sir,  that  they  be 
requested  now  to  address  the  Convention." 

The  motion  was  seconded. 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  I  wish  to  suggest  to  the  gen- 
tleman that  there  will  probably  be  some  resolutions  to  offer, 
that,  under  the  rules,  will  have  to  go  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions, and  as  that  would  be  the  next  order  of  business,  I 
would  suggest  that  the  persons  having  these  resolutions  to 
offer,  put  them  in  first  so  that  the  Committee  can  be  consider- 
ing them.  I  have  a  resolution  myself  that  I  wish  to  offer 
and  have  read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 
If  the  gentleman  will  withdraw  his  motion  for  the  time — " 

The  President.  "The  gentleman  from  Missouri  moves 
that  the  Convention  now  listen  to  some  remarks  from  some 
member  of  the  River  Commission.  That  motion  has  been 
seconded.  As  many  as  favor  the  adoption  of  this  motion 
will  say  «  aye.' ' 

A  delegate.     "Wouldn't  it  take  a  two-third  vote  of  the 

o 

Convention  to  suspend  the  regular  order  of  business?" 

The  President.     "  It  probably  would." 

A  delegate  from  Illinois.  "I  make  that  point  of  order, 
that  it  requires  a  two-third  vote  to  suspend  the  regular  order 
of  business." 


69 

Mr.  Stanard,  of  Missouri.  "  I  hope  that  my  friend  (Mr. 
Hogan)  will  withdraw  his  motion  for  the  time  being  ;  not  that 
I  would  show  any  disrespect  to  the  Commission  at  all,  because 
I  am  anxious  to  hear  from  them,  but  it  seems  to  me  there  is 
force  in  the  suggestion  of  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  that  it 
will  be  eminently  proper  at  this  time  that  gentlemen  of  the 
Convention  have  an  opportunity  to  hand  in  their  resolutions, 
as  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  have  not  reported,  and 
would  like  to  know  of  any  resolutions  or  papers  gentlemen  of 
the  Convention  may  have  to  present,  and  have  the  opportu- 
nity of  considering  them,  so  that  an  early  report  maybe  had 
from  the  Committee  on  Resolutions.  I  hope  the  gentleman 
who  made  the  motion  asking  some  member  of  the  Commission 
to  speak,  will  withdraw  that  motion^temporarily,  and  that  the 
order  of  business  may  be  proceeded  with  until  the  resolutions 
have  been  presented." 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  "  I  had  not  any  idea  of  preclud- 
ing resolutions.  I  didn't  know  there  were  gentlemen  here 
who  might  want  to  present  resolutions  to  be  referred.  I  had 
forgotten  about  that.  My  sole  object  was  to  get  the  thought 
of  the  Commission  into  the  minds  of  the  committee  and  of  the 
Convention  before  proceeding  with  business.  I  have  no  objec- 
tion to  deferring  it  until  after  the  resolutions  proposed  are 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  then  hope  the 
other  will  be  done." 

The  President.  "  The  Chair  understands  the  gentleman 
to  withdraw  his  motion,  and  next  in  order  will  be  the  reception 
of  resolutions  to  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions 
without  debate." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "I  have  a  resolution  I  wish  to 
offer,  and  ask  that  it  may  be  read  and  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions." 

The  resolution  was  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  the 
future  policy  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  should 


70 

embrace  the  enlargement  and  deepening  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  canal,  and  the  improvement  of  the  Illinois  river,  so 
as  to  afford  deep-water  navigation  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the 
Mississippi  river. 

The  President.  "  These  resolutions,  under  the  order, 
will  go  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Arkansas.  "  I  suggest  that  the  States  be 
called  alphabetically." 

The  President.  "A  gentleman  has  suggested  that  the 
States  be  called  in  order  and  resolutions  come  from  delega- 
tions. The  Secretary  will  read  the  list  as  printed." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  list  of  States  as  printed. 

Mr.  Jones,  of  Tennessee,  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  in  constituting  the  commissions  to  adminis- 
ter the  appropriations  to  the  Mississippi  and  its  tribu- 
taries, some  recognition  is  due  to  the  practical  experience  of 
river  men,  who  have  spent  their  lives  in  navigation  of  the 
streams  to  -be  improved  ;  who  have  made  the  movements  of 
the  waters  the  study  of  years  ;  who  know  their  channels  as  the 
faces  of  familiar  friends,  and  have  watched  their  changes  and 
pryed  into  the  causes  of  them  ;  whose  business  makes  them 
most  interested  in  practical  improvements,  and  most  com- 
petent to  advise  upon  the  means  to  be  adopted  to  make  the 
watercourses  fit  avenues  of  commerce. 

Resolved,  That  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  River 
Commission  is  respectfully  called  to  the  fact  that  there  are 
now  in  existence  certain  railroad  bridges  which  operate  to 
obstruct  navigation,  with  draws  of  inadequate  width,  or  not 
properly  placed  as  to  the  navigable  channels,  or  placed  diago- 
nally across  the  currents,  and  that  said  bodies  be  requested  to 
make  proper  inquiry,  and  institute  the 'proceedings  necessary 
to  the  removal  or  the  correction  of  the  evil. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

When  the  Secretary  called  "  Kentucky,"  Mr.  Underwood 
of  that  State  said  : 

"  We  have  at  present  no  resolutions  prepared,  but  mem- 
bers of  our  delegation  desire  to  have  time  yet  to  prepare  some, 
and  I  would  like  to  a*k  if  it  would  bo  in  order  to  present 


71 

resolutions    from    any  of  the    respective    delegations  at  any 
future  period  of  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention?" 

The  President.  "  Resolutions  coming  from  delegations 
or  members  might  be  referred  directly  to  the  Committee  011 
Resolutions.  There  will,  perhaps,  be  no  occasion  for  their 
presentation  at  any  other  than  this  time,  if  we  follow  strictly 
the  order  of  business." 

Mr.  Covington,  of  Ohio.  "I  would  like  to  renew  the 
proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  (Mr.  Under- 
wood), and  if  you  will  allow  me  to  explain  a  single  moment, 
since  the  calling  for  resolutions,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that 
nothing  has  been  presented,  or  probably  will  be  presented, 
referring  to  the  light-house  system  as  established  on  Western 
rivers.  It  is,  to  my  mind,  one  of  the  greatest  aids  to  com- 
merce, and  it  is  a  system  that  should  be  maintained,  whatever 
the  cost  may  be.  Every  navigator  of  the  Western  rivers  will 
admit  there  has  been  nothing  done  for  Western  rivers  from 
which  so  much  benefit  has  been  derived,  for  the  expense  in- 
curred, as  from  the  light-house  system.  I  would  be  pleased 
if  the  Convention  will  allow  me  to  draw  up  a  resolution  on 
that  subject,  and  present  it.  I  think  there  would  be  no  ob- 
jection to  it." 

The  President.     "  I  hear  no  objection." 

Mr.  Gould,  of  Missouri.  "In  answer  to  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio  upon  this  subject  of  the  Light-house  Board,  I  have 
prepared  a  resolution  that  I  had  designed  to  offer  to  the  Con- 
vention at  the  time  Missouri  should  be  called.  You  have 
passed  the  <M's'  and  I  didn't  hear  it;  I  was  engaged,  per- 
haps. I  would  offer  a  resolution  and  ask  that  the  same  be 
read." 

The  President.     "  Missouri  will  be  called  in  order." 

Mr.  William  T.  Price,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  several  delegations  in  attendance  on 
this  Convention  are  hereby  declared  committees,  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  press  upon  the  attention  of  the  Congress  of  the 


72 

United  States  the  propriety  and  the  necessity  of  liberal  appro- 
priations being  made  and  prompt  and  vigorous  efforts  being 
put  forth  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  navigable  tributaries,  by  the  publication  of  statistical 
and  other  information,  memorials  of  State  Legislatures  and 
such  other  methods  as  to  them  may  seem  best  calculated  to 
secure  the  result. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  C.  E.  Mears,  of  Wisconsin,  offered  the  following: 

WHEREAS,  The  United  States  Government  has  already 
commenced  the  improvement  of  many  of  the  navigable  tribu- 
taries of  the  Mississippi  river,  by  appropriation  of  money  by 
Congress  and  the  judicious  expenditure  of  same  by  the  United 
States  Engineer  Corps,  which  expenditure  is  greatly  benefit- 
ing the  entire  Mississippi  Valley  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  continued  appropriations 
by  Congress  for  the  improvement  of  the  navigable  tributaries 
of  the  Mississippi  river  until  they  are  in  perfect  condition,  as 
the  importance  of  their  commerce  demands. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  Taylor,  of  Kansas  City,  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  address  a 
letter  to  each  Congressman  whose  constituency  are  interested 
in  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention,  requesting  him  to 
briefly  define  his  position  as  to  a  liberal  appropriation  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tribu- 
taries, and  that  they  be  published  in  the  St.  Louis  daily 
papers. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  Philo  Parsons,  of  Michigan,  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  deliberate  conviction  of  Michigan, 
which,  from  her  vast  territory,  contributed  States  bordered 
by  the  Mississippi,  that  wise  and  liberal  appropriations, 
ample  in  amount,  should  be  appropriated  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  great  Father  of  Waters  and  the  splendid  tribu- 
taries. 

Same  reference. 


73 

Mr.  McPike,  of  Illinois,  offered  the  following,  which  were 
also  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  : 

WHEREAS,  The  general  and  thorough  improvement  of 
the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries  are  properly 
recognized  of  national  importance,  and, 

WHEREAS,  To  give  practical  force  to  the  efforts  now  being 
made  to  accomplish  such  end,  this  Convention  hereby  pledges 
its  combined  and  earnest  energies  to  urge  upon  Congress  and 
our  representative  men  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  early, 
concentrated  and  persistent  action  to  secure  its  achievement ; 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  By  this  Convention  assembled,  that  we  urge  upon 
Congress  the  adoption  of  a  regular  system  of  national  improve- 
ment of  said  thoroughfares,  to  deepen  that  channel  and  render 
them  a  great  highway,  over  which  the  freighted  wealth  of  this 
unequaled  valley — its  cereal  and  mineral  products  in  their 
varied  forms — may  find  not  only  an  easy  and  cheap,  but  also 
a  safe  transit  to  the  markets  of  the  world. 

Resolved,  That  recognizing  its  overshadowing  importance 
to  all  other  or  integral  parts  of  public  improvement  proposed 
or  possible,  ask  we  from  Congress  definite  and  specific  ap- 
propriations disconnected  from  any  other  system  or  policy  of 
public  expenditures. 

Mr.  John  I.  McBride,  of  Illinois,  offered  the  following: 

WHEREAS,  The  washing  in  of  the  alluvial  lands  along  the 
Mississippi  river  tends  to  widen  the  same  and  create  bars, 
and  thereby  causing  shallow  water  and  impeding  navigation  : 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention,  that  after 
the  work  of  keeping  the  snags  removed  and  maintaining  the 
signal  light-house  service,  the  next  work  of  first  importance 
which  should  receive  attention,  is  that  of  preventing  the  wash- 
ing in  of  the  banks,  and,  secondly,  the  narrowing  of  the  channel 
in  the  most  necessary  places,  as  has  been  recommended  by 
the  River  Commission. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 
Mr.  Thistlewood,  of  Illinois,  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention,  imposing  implicit  faith  in 
the  wisdom  and  the  ability  of  the  present  Mississippi  Com- 


74 

mission,  as  organized  by  act  of  Congress,  does  hereby  in- 
dorse their  plans  for  the  improvement  of  said  river,  and  would 
most  earnestly  petition  our  representatives  in  Congress  to  use 
all  honorable  means  to  secure  such  a  liberal  appropriation  as 
will  enable  said  Commission  to  vigorously  prosecute  their  im- 
portant work,  in  a  manner  commensurate  Vith  the  magnitude 
of  so  important  a  public  highway. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  Fishback,  of  Arkansas,  presented  the  following  reso- 
lutions,* which  were  referred  to  the  same  committee  : 

WHEREAS,  The  preamble  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  declares  that  one  of  the  objects  of  our  Union  is  to  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare  by  a  combination  of  effort  of  all  the 
States  and  through  the  General  Government. 

WHEREAS,  The  enormous  development  of  our  internal 
resources  and  the  rapidly  expanding  increase  of  our  foreign 
commerce  render  cheap  and  easy  transportation  from  the 
interior  to  the  seaboard  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  our  gen- 
eral welfare  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  Of  the  two  leading  methods  of  transportation 
one  is  artificial,  constructed  at  enormous  cost,  and  operated 
at  heavy  expense,  while  the  other  is  furnished  by  nature  free 
of  cost ;  the  former  owned  by  private  individuals  and  subject 
to  private  control  and  private  avarice  or  caprice ;  the  latter 
free  to  the  competition  of  all  and  subject  to  the  exclusive  con- 
trol of  the  United  States  Government ;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  Congress,  while  it  has  given  to  these  artifi- 
cial highways,  which  are  the  property  of  private  individual-, 
nearly  one  hundred  millions  of  money,  and  nearly  two  hun- 
dred millions  also  of  acres  of  our  national  lands,  has  left  the 
great  natural  and  national  highways  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
with  appropriations  totally  inadequate  to  the  purpose  of  ren- 
dcrin!_r  their  navigation  certain  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  It  is  inconsistent  with  the  general  welfare  that 
the  large  interior  basin  lying  between  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  tin;  Alleghenic*,  comprising  upward  of  one-half,  and  i»y 
tar  the  most  fertile  part  of  our  national  domain,  with  1(1, 000 
miles  of  navigable  >1ivam<,  and  nearlv  20,000,000  of  people, 
and  yielding  more  than  half  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the 
country,  >hould  l»e  forced  to  abandon  its  natural  and  cheaper 
highways  Ix-i-m-i-  of  their  uncertainty,  and  to  carry  its  best 


75 

and  rapidly  increasing  productions  to  the  seaboard  across 
mountain  ranges,  over  artificial  highways,  and  at  such  heavy 
expense  as  to  sometimes  amount  to  a  total  interdiction,  and  at 
all  times  to  a  serious  detriment  both  to  the  consumer  and  the 
producer ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  first.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention  the 
general  welfare  of  our  country  can  in  few  other  ways  be  so 
largely  promoted  as  by  a  systematic  and  comprehensive  plan 
of  opening  the  navigable  streams  of  the  United  States,  and 
keeping  them  open  at  all  seasons,  thus  rendering  impractica- 
ble those  capricious  or  avaricious  combinations  among  com- 
mon carriers  which  in  the  past  have  proven  so  disastrous  to 
legitimate  commerce. 

Second.  That,  as  the  initial  part  of  such  a  plan,  it  is  of 
especial  and  commanding  importance  both  to  the  foreign  and 
domestic  commerce  of  our  country,  that  the  Mississippi  river, 
from  St.  Louis  to  its  mouth,  be  made  to  afford  unfailing  nav- 
igation at  all  seasons,  and  as  early  as  practicable,  and  that  at  ' 
the  same  time  the  navigation  of  its  upper  waters  and  tributa- 
ries be  opened  and  improved  more  or  less  rapidly,  as  the  traf- 
fic of  their  adjacent  territories  respectively  may  demand. 

Third.  That  these  natural  highways  being  subject  to  the 
exclusive  control,  and  by  our  Constitution  confided  to  the  pe- 
culiar care  of  the  General  Government,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  to  make  whatever  appropria- 
tions may  be  necessary  to  carry  out  objects  of  such  vital  impor- 
tance to  the  general  welfare. 

Fourth.  That  a  committee  consisting  of  one  from  each  State 
represented  in  this  Convention,  and  five  from  the  city  of  St, 
Louis,  be  appointed  by  the  Chair,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  col- 
late and  tabulate  statistical  information  in  regard  to  :  First,  the 
probable  cost  of  rendering  permanently  navigable  the  Missis- 
sippi river  from  St.  Louis  to  its  mouth.  Second,  the  probable 
cost  of  rendering  permanently  navigable  its  tributaries  respect- 
ively from  their  mouths  to  their  heads  of  navigation.  Third,  the 
amounts,  both  in  value  and  quantity,  of  produce  which  are  now 
carried  across  the  country  out  of  their  natural  courses  by  rail- 
ways and  which  would  seek  the  seaboard  by  rivers  if  naviga- 
tion were  rendered  certain  at  all  seasons.  Fourth,  the  amounts, 
both  in  value  and  quantity,  of  productions  now  transported 
along  the  respective  routes  of  our  rivers,  both  by  the  rivers 
themselves  and  by  the  parallel  railways  along  their  respective 
valleys.  Fifth,  the  relative  cost  of  river  and  rail  transporta- 


76 

tion.  Sixth,  the  comparative  amounts  which  have  been  appro- 
priated by  the  Congress  to  the  natural  and  peculiarly  national 
highways  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  for  their  improvement,  and 
to  private  corporations  for  constructing  artificial  transporta- 
tion lines  from  the  interior  to  the  seaboard,  and  such  other 
information  as  may  seem  to  them  advisable,  and  report  the 
same  to  this  Convention  to-morrow  at  12  M.,  to  the  end  that 
it  be  laid  before  the  people  and  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States. 

Mr.  Hartwig,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following: 

WHEREAS,  The  rapid  progress  made  in  this  country  during 
the  past  forty  years  is  in  a  great  measure  due  to  the  skill  of 
American  inventors  and  American  engineers  ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  There  is  a  growing  feeling  among  the  people  of 

the  great  Mississippi  Valley,  and  especially  among  our  old  and 

m experienced    river   navigators,    that  some  mechanical   device 

"could  be   adopted  that  would   cheaply  and  rapidly  deepen  the 

water  in  the  channels  of  our  Western  and  Southern  rivers,  and 

thereby  give  relief  at  once  to  the  river  commerce  of  the  West 

and  South ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  The  unprecedented  increase  of  produce  ship- 
ments by  the  Mississippi  river  during  the  last  twelve  months 
makes  it  the  imperative  duty  of  the  General  Government  to 
test  any  plan  or  device  that  in  the  opinion  of  practical  river 
navigators  promises  good  results  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  first.  That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
is  hereby  urgently  requested  to  appoint  a  commission  consist- 
ing of  twelve  old  and  experienced  Western  and  Southern  river 
navigators,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  investigate  any  and  all 
mechanical  devices  for  improving  navigation  that  may  be 
brought  to  their  attention  for  cutting  or  dredging  through  and 
deepening  channels  across  sand-bars,  and  after  a  careful  and 
exhaustive  examination  into  all  the  details,  report  to  Congress 
the  device  or  character  of  machinery  which  in  their  judgment 
is  host  adapted  for  that  purpose  and  which  promises  the  best 
results. 

Resolved^  That  Congress  is  hereby  requested  to  make 
sufficient  appropriations  to  test  any  mechanical  device  reported 
on  favorably  by  said  conuni-sion  and  put  same  to  work  on  the 
Mi-si>>ippi  or  Missouri  river  during  the  summer  of  1882. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 


77 

Mr.  Stanard,  of  Missouri.  "  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  preamble 
and  a  set  of  resolutions  prepared  by  the  delegation  of  the 
Merchants'  Exchange  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  representing  as 
they  do  their  views  upon  this  important  subject, — the  subject 
under  consideration.  I  ask  that  the  resolutions  be  read." 

The  resolutions  were  read  as  follows  : 

To  the  representatives  of  the   commercial   communities  of  the 
Mississippi  VaUey  in  convention  assembled  at  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Believing  that  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tribu- 
taries, the  great  inland  water-ways  prepared  by  the  Creator 
for  the  use  of  the  people,  are  a  most  important  and  valuable 
part  of  the  national  domain,  free  to  all,  beyond  the  reach  of 
monopoly  and  affording  to  the  whole  people  that  competition 
in  transportation  which  benefits  producers  and  consumers 
alike ;  and  further,  that  cheap  transportation  is  the  great 
necessity  of  an  agricultural  people,  the  indispensable  condi- 
tion of  'the  easy  conveyance  to  distressed  markets  of  their 
staple  products,  bulky  in  proportion  to  value  ;  that  the  famil- 
iar economical  truth  that  the  cheapest  transportation  of  such 
products  is  by  water,  is  especially  applicable  to  these  great 
water-ways  of  the  West ;  provided,  the  same  be  kept  free 
from  snags,  sand-bars,  treacherous  banks  and  other  obstacles 
to  navigation,  do  therefore  resolve  and  declare 

First.  That  it  is  the  manifest  and  imperative  duty  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States  to  cause  to  be  made  such 
improvements  of  the  great  rivers  of  that  valley,  to  wit,  the 
Mississippi,  the  Missouri  and  the  Ohio,  neither  of  which  is 
within  or  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  any  one  State,  as  will 
permanently  secure  the  safety  and  ease  of  the  navigation 
thereof  from  source  to  mouth  ;  thereby  cheapening  freights, 
reducing  insurance  and  other  burdens  and  expenses,  promot- 
ing the  vast  inland  commerce  of  the  nation  and  creating  new 
avenues  of  foreign  trade,  and  thus  not  only  inviting  increased 
production  and  population,  but  assuring  greater  prosperity  to 
the  whole  people, 

Second.  That  the  appropriations  for  such  improvements 
should  be  separately  made  for  each  river,  and  be  adequate  to 
the  continued  prosecution  of  work  once  begun  until  the  same 
is  finished,  so  as  to  avoid  the  wasteful  destruction  of  work 
partially  completed,  by  reason  of  the  delay  or  stoppage  there- 


78 

of  for  want  of  sufficient  appropriations  ;  and    be  it  further  re- 
solved, 

Third.  That  this  Convention  recognizes  with  extreme 
satisfaction  and  emphatic  approval,  in  the  passage  of  the  acts 
of  Congress  of  June  28,  1879,  "  for  the  appointment  of  a 
Mississippi  River  Commission,"  and  in  the  comprehensive  and 
scientific  surveys  and  important  recommendations  made  by 
the  distinguished  engineers  appointed  on  that  commission,  as 
set  forth  in  their  reports  of  February  17,  1880,  and  January  8, 
1881,  the  first  well-considered  and  effective  step  towards 
the  complete  and  permanent  opening  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley to  the  markets  of  the  world :  but  would  also  strongly 
express  its  regret  at  the  refusal  of  the  last  Congress,  after 
creating  the  Commission,  and  notwithstanding  the  deliberate 
and  emphatic  approval  of  their  plans  by  the  House  Commit-* 
tee  on  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river,  to  appropri- 
ate the  amount  estimated  and  recommended  by  the  said  Com- 
mission for  doing  the  work  by  them  carefully  laid  out  and 
prepared  ;  and  be  it  further  resolved, 

Fourth.  That  in  the  deliberate  and  earnest  judgment  of 
this  Convention,  delegates  to  represent  the  interests  in  that 
behalf  of  more  than  one-half  the  States  and  Territories  of 
the  Union,  inhabited  by  more  than  one-half  of  its  entire  pop- 
ulation, from  whom  is  collected  seventy-two  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  internal  revenue  of  the  nation,  whose  internal  commerce 
is  already  one-half  that  of  the  whole  United  States,  more 
than  twelve  times  greater  than  the  total  foreign  commerce  of 
this  nation,  and  larger  than  the  total  foreign  commerce  of  the 
world  ;  but  upon  whose  industry  is  each  year  levied,  by  the 
obstacles  to  the  safe  and  easy  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
river  and  its  navigable  tributaries,  a  needless  direct  tax- 
by  way  of  increased  freights  and  insurance,  demurrage, 
wreck  and  repairs,  of  not  less  than  ten  millions  of  dollar- 
($10,000,000),  it  is  the  important  duty  of  Congress  and  the 
right  of  the  people  for  whom  this  Convention  is  authorized  to 
speak,  that  the  legislation  thus  wisely  begun  be  made  effectual 
and  permanent  by  enlarging  the  powers  of  the  River  Com- 
mission to  include  the  active  prosecution  of  the  works  already 
recommended  by  them,  and  by  the  regular  and  separate 
appropriation  from  year  to  year  of  such  sums  as  said  Com- 
mission, acting  under  the  reasonable  supervision  of  Congress, 
shall  report  as  necessary  to  that  end,  so  that  this  great  and 


79 

indispensable  work,  material  in  every  sense,  shall  no  longer 
be  delayed. 

•  Fifth.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  that  the  comprehensive 
and  scientific  scheme  of  river  improvement  thus  inaugurated 
should  as  rapidly  as  possible  include  the  complete  and  perma- 
nent improvement  and  maintenance  of  all  the  navigable  tribu- 
taries of  the  great  national  water-way  aboved  named. 

The  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  same  committee. 

Mr.  Bernheimer,  of  Missouri.  "Recognizing  the  fact  in 
one  section  that  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river 
means  the  improvement  of  its  channel  and  the  facilitating  of 
commerce,  I  ask  the  Convention  to  recognize  the  fact  for  the 
South,  that  it  deserves  the  improvement  and  protection  of  the 
banks  bordering  on  it,  for  the  protection  of  the  surrounding 
country.  For  that  purpose  I  beg  to  offer  a  special  resolution 
for  levees,  as  follows  : 

Be  it  resolved,  By  this  Convention  that  we  deem  it  not 
only  eminently  fitting,  but  urgently  the  duty  of  the  General 
Government  to  afford  relief  and  render  protection  to  those 
sections  to  the  great  Mississippi  Valley  which  are  annually 
subjected  to  inundation  by  the  floods  of  this  great  river, — the 
national  highway  to  the  sea. 

We  deem  this  work  of  national  importance,  and  urge  upon 
Congress  to  make  special  provision  for  the  building  and  main- 
tenance of  a  perfect  system  of  levees  throughout  the  sections 
requiring  the  same,  thus  reclaiming  many  millions  of  acres  of 
valuable  lands,  public  as  well  as  private,  which  will  otherwise 
be  left  an  idle  waste,  to  the  detriment  of  the  whole  country. 

Referred  to  the  same  committee. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Mansur,  of  Missouri.  "  We  have  heard  a  good 
deal,  both  by  resolution  and  in  speeches,  of  the  importance 
of  unity  of  action,  and  I  want  to  see  if  members  will  abide 
by  what  they  propose,  and  pledge  themselves  not  to  support 
any  man  for  office  who  is  not  in  sympathy  with  Mississippi 
river  improvement,  and  will  ask  their  friends  to  refrain  from 


80 

supporting  all  such  candidates.      [Cheers.]     I  offer  the  follow- 
ing resolutions : 

WHEREAS,  The  United  States  is  in  a  condition  of  profoun'd 
peace,  at  home  and  abroad  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  year  A.  D.  1882  is  an  off-year  in  politics ; 
and 

WHEREAS,  The  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and 
its  tributary  streams  is  a  subject  of  vital  importance  to  the 
present,  as  well  as  future  welfare  of  the  tens  of  millions  of 
people  inhabiting  and  to  inhabit  its  great  valley,  transcending 
far  questions  of  mere  party  politics,  which  it  should  be  above 
and  beyond  ;  and  to  the  end  that  our  members  in  Congress, 
as  well  as  the  people  of  the  whole  country,  may  know  that 
this  Convention  is  in  earnest ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Convention  hereby 
pledge  their  honor,  each  to  the  other,  that  in  A.  D.  1882, 
within  our  respective  districts  and  within  our  party  allegiance 
and  lines,  we  will  neither  support  for  a  nomination,  or  if  nom- 
inated, will  neither  work  for,  nor  support  for  any  election  any 
person  who  will  not  pledge  himself,  if  elected,  to  abide  by, 
work  and  vote  for,  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  such  measures 
and  appropriations  as  may  be  adopted  and  recommended  by 
this  Convention. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recommend  to  the  voters 
of  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  of  the  several  Con- 
gressional Districts  lying  within  the  area  of  the  Mississippi 
galley,  to  pursue  the  same  line  of  policy  outlined  in  the  above 
resolution. 

Referred  to  same  committee. 

Mr.  Given  Campbell,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  suggest  to  the  Governors 
of  each  of  the  States  of  this  valley  the  propriety  and  import- 
ance of  the  appointment  and  maintenance  by  each  State  of  at 
least  one  agent  who  shall  actively  promote  the  objects  of  this 
Convention. 

Referred  to  same  committee. 

Mr.  Gould,  of  Mi-.-ouri.  ''Are  resolutions  still  in  order 
from  Missouri?  "  [Laughter.] 


81 

The  President.  "Resolutions  are  still  in  order  from 
Missouri." 

Mr.  Gould .  "I  hold  in  my  hand  two  resolutions .  [Laugh- 
ter.] As  I  see  the  Secretary  has  some  difficulty  in  deciphering 
resolutions  that  are  sent  up,  and  is  somewhat  embarrassed, 
by  permission  of  the  President,  I  will  read  the  resolutions. 
I  would  remark,  in  the  first  place," — 

Cries  of  "Read!"   "read!" 

Mr.  Gould.  "  I  will  read,  then  ;  don't  be  alarmed  ;  Mis- 
souri is  still  in  order.  Resolutions  of  this  character" — 

Renewed  cries  of  "  Read  !  " 

Mr.  Gould  then  read  the  following  : 

WHEREAS,  The  Government  has  within  the  last  few  years 
extended  the  benefits  of  the  light-house  system  to  Western 
and  Southern  rivers  to  a  limited  extent,  thus  adding  greatly 
to  the  facilities  of  navigation,  so  far  as  it  has  extended,  and 
showing  the  necessity  of  increased  service  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention,  looking  to  the  immediate 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its 
navigable  tributaries,  recommends  to  Congress  the  pressing 
necessity  of  adding  another  district  to  the  present  number, 
the  same  to  extend  from  Cairo  to  New  Orleans  and  embrace 
the  Southern  tributaries,  thus  enabling  the  present  force  to 
devote  much  needed  service  to  the  upper  streams  above  Cairo, 
which  cannot  now  be  accommodated,  with  the  amount  of  ser- 
vice granted  by  Congress. 

Mr.  Gould.  "  As  the  Convention  is  entertaining  proposi- 
tions a  little  wider  than  was  apprehended  when  these  resolutions 
were  drawn, — they  have  not  been  drawn  with  very  much  care  ; 
simply  suggestions,  as  it  were, — and  as  I  see  the  Convention 
is  receiving  various  propositions  outside  " — 

Cries  of  "Read!"   "read!" 

Mr.  Gould.     "  With  your  permission  I  will  read  this." 

The  President.  "  Observe  order,  gentlemen.  The  gentle- 
man is  in  order.  Proceed  with  the  reading." 

6 


82 

Mr.  Gould  (reading) — 

WHEREAS,  Congress  has  enacted  a  general  bridge  law, 
whereby  railroad  and  other  companies  are  authorized  to  bridge 
navigable  streams  without  properly  protecting  the  passage- 
ways through  bridges  built  with  draws,  thus  often  causing 
loss  of  life  to  raftsmen  while  attempting  to  pass  through  the 
draw,  and  a  great  loss  of  time  to  steamboats  and  barges,  and 
not  unfrequently  the  loss  of  the  same  when  attempting  to  pass 
them  in  windy  weather  and  dark  nights,  thus  increasing  the 
risk  and  causing  additional  cost  in  insurance  to  the  transpor- 
tation of  the  products  of  the  country  ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  it  is  entirely  practicable  to 
protect?  such  draws,  and  at  small  cost,  by  building  cribs  or 
sheer-booms,  or  driving  spiling  above  the  opening  and  along- 
side the  draw-pier,  thus  rendering  the  passage  of  all  kind  of 
water-craft  comparatively  safe,  by  dropping  through  with 
lines,  when  necessary,  we  therefore  respectfully  ask  that 
Congress  will,  at. its  next  session,  enact  a  law  compelling  all 
owners  of  bridges  across  navigable  streams,  that  are  built  as 
draw-bridges,  to  furnish  the  necessary  protection,  within  a 
reasonable  time. 

The  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions. 

Mr.  George  H.  Shields,  of  Missouri.  "If  Missouri  is 
still  in  order  I  desire  to  offer  some  resolutions,  and  as  I  don't 
write  very  well,  I  will  read  them  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  immediate  and  comprehensive  improve- 
ment of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries  to 
the  fullest  extent  of  their  improvable  capacity,  in  order  to 
secure  safe,  permanent  and  reliable  channels  of  sufficient 
depth  and  breadth  to  afford,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  am- 
ple facilities  for  the  water  transportation  of  the  immense  pro- 
ductions of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley,  is  demanded  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  by  every  consideration  of 
commercial,  agricultural  and  society  advancement,  and  by 
justice  and  an  enlightened  policy  of  promoting  the  prosperity 
and  defence  of  the  whole  nation. 

"Second.  That  we  favor  any  meritorious  project  for  in- 
creased water  transportation  facilities,  by  which  the  general 
interests  of  the  whole  country  may  be  conserved,  and  we 


83 

commend  all  such  schemes  to  the  careful  consideration  and 
intelligent  support  of  Congress,  if  truly  worthy  ;  but  we  deem 
the  immediate  and  permanent  improvement  of  the  Mississippi 
river  and  its  navigable  tributaries,  according  to  some  compre- 
hensive plan,  embracing  the  whole  subject,  of  paramount 
importance,  and  we  demand  of  Congress  that  the  matter  be 
considered  on  its  own  merits,  and  free  from  all  complications 
or  connection  with  other  internal  improvements. 

"Third.  That  we  believe  the  appointment,  under  the  act 
of  Congress,  of  the  "  Mississippi  River  Commission,"  a  step 
in  the  right  direction,  and  we  earnestly  demand  that  the 
reasonable  requests  of  that  body,  which  we  believe  to  be  com- 
posed of  wise,  scientific  and  practical  men,  for  public  moneys 
to  carry  out  the  needed  improvements,  under  a  general  and 
comprehensive  plan,  should  be  cheerfully  granted." 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  Livingstone,  of  Illinois,  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  there  be  appointed  by  this  Convention  a 
permanent  executive  committee  to  further  the  objects  of  this 
Convention,  to  consist  of  at  least  one  from  each  Congressional 
District  which  is  represented  here,  which  will  have  power 
to  collect  and  publish  information  on  the  subject,  and  to  ap- 
point committees  to  attend  the  sessions  of  Congress  from 
time  to  time,  to  urge  upon  that  body  ample  appropriations 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributa- 
ries, and  to  take  such  measures  as  they  may  deem  necessary 
to  secure  the  objects  embraced  in  the  call  of  this  Convention. 

Mr.  McEnery,  of  Louisiana.  "  These  resolutions  are 
offered  by  the  entire  delegation." 

Resolved,  That  we  heartily  approve  the  expressed  deter- 
mination of  the  Federal  Government  to  improve  navigation  by 
adequately  constructed  levees,  preventing  destructive  floods 
and  giving  ease  and  safety  to  trade,  commerce  and  the  postal 
service  on  the  great  national  highway,  the  Mississippi  river. 

Also,  that  we  approve  the  steps  already  taken  in  the 
appointment  of  a  mixed  commission  of  engineers  from  the 
scientific  corps  of  the  Government  and  from  civil  life,  to  plan 
and  execute  this  great  work,  and  in  appropriating  sums  of 


84 

money,  both  for  the  necessary  surveys  and  examinations  and 
for  commencing  work  under  the  plan  proposed  by  them  ;  and, 
in  view  of  the  greatness  of  the  object  sought,  the  necessity  of 
uniformity  of  system  and  administration  to  the  success  of  such 
work,  and  in  the  interests  and  rights  of  30,000,000  of  citizens, 
we  demand  that  the  efforts  of  the  Government  shall  be  both 
persistent  and  liberal. 

That  the  course  indicated  by  the  legislation  of  the  last 
Congress  should  be  maintained  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
extended  over  the  tributaries,  and  that  appropriations  shall  be 
adequate  to  the  magnitude  of  the  work  and  the  necessity  of 
pushing  it  forward  as  rapidly  as  the  increased  commercial 
necessities  demand. 

Finally,  in  exemplification  of  the  wise  appropriation  and 
judicious  expenditures  of  the  public  money,  under  a  system 
and  in  an  enterprise  similar  to  that  which  we  are  now  advo- 
cating, we  point  to  the  triumphant  success  and  the  great 
commercial  results  of  the  Jetties  of  the  South  Pass.  This 
great  work  has  already  established  new  and  more  extended 
lines  of  commerce,  giving  freer  access  to  the  ports  of  the  world 
and  saving  many  times  their  cost  as  profit  to  the  producer  in 
reduced  rates  of  transportation. 

The  full  development  of  their  benefits  will  only  be  attained 
when  similar  improvements  are  extended  to  the  entire  length 
of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  great  tributary  streams  and  full 
protection  be  given  to  the  dwellers  on  the  banks. 

The  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions. 

Mr.  Loyal,  of  Louisiana.  "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  had  prepared 
an  article  to  be  read  before  this  Convention,  and  submitted  it 
to  the  delegation  of  which  I  am  a  member ;  they  advocated 
my  not  pushing  the  question  ;  I  therefore  have  not  done  it, 
but  inasmuch  as  I  have  devoted  considerable  attention  to  the 
subject,  I  filed  it  with  the  Secretary  ;  I  wish  it,  if  so  ordered, 
to  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. " 

The  Chairman.     "  There  will  be  no  objection." 

Mr.  D.  C.  Basey,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  Chairman  of  this  Convention  appoint 
a  committee  of  three  from  each  Congressional  District  to 


85 

petition  their  Congressmen  to  use  their  influence  and  vote  for 
as  liberal  appropriation  as  may  be  asked  by  the  Kiver  Commis- 
sion, which  was  appointed  by  last  Congress,  to  improve  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Livingstone,  of  Louisiana,  offered  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  the  protection  and  improvement  of  the 
river  transportation  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  means  a  confined 
channel  of  sufficient  depth  from  navigable  headwaters  to  the 
sea. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  following  was  presented  by  James  F.  Robinson,  of 
Arkansas  : 

Resolved,  That  the  purposes  of  this  Convention  can  be 
best  attained  by  simply  indorsing  the  law  creating  the  Missis- 
sippi River  Commission,  approving  the  plans  of  the  Com- 
missioners, and  using  all  legitimate  means  to  procure  from 
Congress  the  necessary  appropriations  to  carry  out  their  plans. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  following  was  offered  by  Mr.  Walker,  of  Minnesota : 

Resolved,  That  for  the  purpose  of  expediting  the  great 
work  of  improving  the  16,000  miles  of  water-way  comprising 
the  Mississippi  and  its  navigable  tributaries,  we  do  most  earn- 
estly insist  and  recommend  that  Congress  make  immediate 
provision  for  the  rapid  progress  of  the  work  by  adding  to  the 
Mississippi  River  Commission  at  least  eight  more  members, 
five  of  whom  shall  be  from  the  regular  corps  of  engineers  of 
the  War  Department  of  the  United  States,  so  that  it  may  be 
susceptible  of  division  into  three  working  parties  of  five  each, 
three  of  whom  shall  be  United  States  engineers. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  P.  J.  Kennedy,  of  New  Mexico.  "  Coming  as  I  have 
come  some  fifteen  hundred  miles  to  represent  the  Territory  of 
New  Mexico,  I  desire  .to  say  that  previous  to  going  to  New 
Mexico  I  spent  twenty-seven  years  of  my  life  on  the  Mississippi 
river  building  levees,  confining  the  water  to  its  channel,  and 


86 

keeping  the  country,  as  well  as  I  could,  protected  from  over- 
flow. I  have  a  report,  which  I  have  made  out  in  the  form  of 
resolutions.  As  resolutions  are  now  in  order,  I  present  them 
to  this  Convention,  and  ask  the  Secretary  to  read  them. 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  resolutions  as  follows  : 

JResolved,  That  the  importance  of  the  subject  of  reclaim- 
ing and  protecting  from  overflow,  by  the  annual  floods 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  of  the  great  region  within  its  delta, 
cannot  be  overestimated.  The  Mississippi  river  is  the  natural 
drain  of  a  vast  area  of  our  territory  between  the  Rocky 
and  Allegheny  mountains,  and  from  our  northerly  boundary 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  embracing  over  1,200,000  square 
miles.  It  embraces  portions  of  the  States  of  Missouri,  Illi- 
nois, Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  and 
contains  about  38,700  square  miles,  or,  in  acres,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, 24,768,000  ;  of  this  amount  there  are  4,000  miles  of  sea- 
marsh,  and  irreclaimable,  leaving  22,208,000  acres  of  fertile 
land,  wholly  idle  and  useless,  on  account  of  its  annually  be- 
ing inundated  by  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  soil  is  rich  alluvial  deposit  and  inexhaustible.  Plan- 
tations so  situated  as  to  be  free  from  the  invasion  of  the 
floods,  without  fertilizers,  produce  crops  of  sugar,  cotton, 
rice  and  corn,  as  when  first  redeemed  from  the  [forest.  The 
land  subject  to  overflow,  if  protected  by  levees  and  reclaimed, 
is  capable  of  sustaining  not  less  than  20,000,000  people.  Its 
productions  would  be  the  richest  in  the  world,  averaging  two 
bales  of  cotton  to  the  acre  ;  2,000  pounds  of  sugar,  besides 
molasses,  etc.,  to  the  acre,  and  forty  bushels  of  corn  ;  and 
other  cereals,  as  well  as  vegetables  and  fruits,  grow  in  pro- 
fusion. In  fact,  the  wealth  of  the  overflowed  lands  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  are  exhaustless  and  inexhaustible,  and  yet 
this  favored  region  is  decaying,  becoming  a  waste  and  a  wil- 
derness, because  of  the  annual  floods  of  the  river  which  di- 
vides its  centre. 

The  work  to  reclaim  this  vast  region  should  be  the  solemn 
and  immediate  duty  of  the  General  Government,  and  to 
restore  them  to  the  hands  of  the  husbandman. 

First.  Because  the  work  is  one  national  in  its  character. 
The  Government,  to  be  just,  should  control  its  floods,  so  that 
the  natural  servitude  owed  by  the  Delta  regions,  should  not 


87 

operate  injuriously  to  citizens,  because  of  their  being  located 
in  that  region. 

^Second.  The  work  is  national  in  its  character,  because  it 
affects  the  safety  and  fortunes  of  five  States,  and  indirectly 
affects  the  people  of  the  entire  Mississippi  Valley.  It  cannot 
be  called  a  sectional  improvement,  as  it  is  designed  at  once 
to  confer  benefit  upon  the  people  who  live  in  the  lands  sub- 
ject to  overflow,  render  safe  their  lives  and  property,  and  to 
improve  a  region  which  will,  in  a  few  short  years,  repay  a 
hundred-fold  the  appropriation  the  Government  should  give. 

Third.  It  is  national,  because  the  more  perfect  levee  sys- 
tem of  one  State  is  useless  unless  there  are  equal  and  uniform 
levee  systems  in  other  States. 

In  the  language  of  Prof.  C.  G.  Forshey,  a  distinguished 
engineer,  who  made  a  study,  for  more  than  thirty  years,  of 
the  Mississippi,  its  currents  and  levees:  "No  State  alone 
can  build  its  levees,  because  of  the  independence  of  its  topog- 
raphy. A  system  to  be  efficient  in  one,  must  comprehend 
them  all.  The  interior  is  a  basin,  or  series  of  basins  :  the 
water,  whenever  let  in,  submerges  the  basins  alike.  These 
States,  then,  must  share  a  common  fortune,  and  hence  it 
must  appeal  to  a  power  that  comprehends  many  States  in  its 
operations.  Congress  alone  has  that  power." 

Congress  can  provide  for  the  general  welfare.  Scarcely  a 
river  harbor  or  bay  upon  our  coast  but  annually  receives  its 
thousands  that  the  highways  of  commerce  may  be  safe  and 
open.  In  building  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi,  Congress 
will  promote  and  render  safe  the  vast  commerce  of  the  great- 
est river  of  the  world,  by  removing  its  bars,  deepening  its 
channel,  and  by  expediting  the  transportation  of  freight, 
mails  and  passengers. 

If  the  levee  system  became  general,  and  the  waters  of  the 
river  were  confined  to  its  channel,  bars  would  be  washed  out 
and  the  channel  deepened.  According  to  the  opinion  of 
Captain  Eads  :  "It  (the  river)  scours  out  increased  room  for 
itself  wherever  its  current  is  accelerated,  and  its  deposits  are 
everywhere  found  where  its  current  is  retarded."  He  cited, 
to  prove  his  assertion,  that  "when  the  «  Bonne  Carre '  cre- 
vasse occurred  in  1874,  that  when  the  current  is  checked  by 
the  depletion  of  the  river  by  a  crevasse,  deposits  of  sediment 
will  occur  below  the  crevasse,  because  the  slackening  of  the 
current,  caused  by  the  channel  below  being  then  too  large  for 
the  diminished  needs  of  the  river,  would  cause  the  water  to 


88 

deposit  a  part  of  its  sediment,  and  thus  raise  the  bottom  of 
the  river  below  the  crevasse  until,  by  the  contraction,  the 
natural  current  was  restored."  He  also  says  that  "  we  know 
that  shoals  are  produced  below  crevasses,  etc.,  and  that  they 
will  disappear  when  crevasses  are  closed." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  crevasses  are  forming  bars 
constantly  and  obstructing  the  commerce  of  the  river,  and 
the  outlets,  if  not  closed,  will  deepen  and  widen  and  the  bars 
will  grow  and  become  more  serious  by  their  obstructions.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  transportation  and  delivery  of  mails, 
freight  and  passengers  are  hindered  and  delayed  by  the  floods 
for  want  of  landings.  Many  ideas  have  been  advanced  as  to 
the  best  methods  of  relief  from  overflows,  to  wit:  One,  res- 
ervoirs ;  two,  straightening  the  channel ;  three,  outlets  ;  and 
four,  levees. 

The  reservoir  system  is  to  hold  back  by  a  system  of  arti- 
ficial lakes  during  floods,  the  volume  of  water  held  back  to 
be  retained  for  improving  low-water  navigation ;  but  th^ 
Board  of  Engineers  appointed  by  the  Government  to  examine 
and  report  a  permanent  place  for  the  reclamation  of  the  allu- 
vial basin  of  the  Mississippi  river,  says:  "In  theory  this 
system  is  very  attractive,  but  in  practice  it  promises  no  relief 
for  the  lowlands  of  the  Mississippi,  simply  because  there  are 
no  available  sites  for  reservoirs  sufficiently  large  to  produce 
the  desired  effect." 

Secondly.  Straightening  the  channel  is  the  idea  of  dimin- 
ishing the  natural  resistance  opposed  to  the  flow  of  the  water 
by  cutting  off  the  bends  of  the  river,  and  thus  lowering  the 
surface.  There  are  good  reasons  why  cut-offs,  judiciously 
located,  should  be  made  ;  among  others  is,  that  caving  banks 
are  caused  by  a  curved  channel,  and  if  the  channel  is  uniform, 
or  nearly  so,  in  width,  the  caving  caused  by  the  curving  will 
be  trifling. 

Thirdly.  Is  that  of  making  or  creating  outlets  to  drain  the 
surplus  water  from  the  river  and  discharging  it  through  new 
channels.  Though  there  are  many  objections  to  them,  i.e., 
that  they  may  deluge  the  adjacent  country  ;  that  great  depos- 
its will  be  left  in  the  lakes  in  which  the  deposits  are  withdrawn, 
thereby  destroying  the  navigation  of  the  lakes,  and  may  even 
change  the  channel  of  the  river,  and  also  cause  a  diminution 
of  the  velocity  of  the  current,  and  thus  perhaps  increase  the 
height  of  the  floods. 

Fourthly.    Is  that  of  a  system  of  protecting  by  artificial 


89 

bunks  erected  in  the  natural  banks  of  the  river.  We  all  know 
that  great  good  has  resulted  from  the  levees  already  built. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  plan  is  the  best  to  be  adopted  in 
the  Valley,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  The  history  of 
other  countries  shows  that  the  levee  system  is  the  only  one  ; 
for  instance,  those  in  the  Rhine,  below  Arnheim,  protect  the 
most  fertile  part  of  Holland.  They  are  exposed  at  high 
water  to  as  strong  a  current  as  the  floods  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  occurrence  of  crevasses,  as  they  take  place  during 
high  water  on  the  Mississippi,  are  not  known  there. 

The  levees  as  now  existing,  compared  with  the  interests 
they  protect,  are  insignificant  to  those  of  the  rivers  like  the 
Po,  Rhine,  and  Vistula,  and  yet  they  have  done  great  good 
and  benefit  to  the  lands  protected.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  location  of  permanent  levees,  made  to  conform  to  a  plan 
for  straightening  and  correcting  the  channels,  even  using  the 
cut-offs,  will  save  thousands  of  square  miles  from  inundation 
and  overflow,  and  add  most  vastly  to  the  glory  and  wealth  of 
the  country. 

All  the  engineers  appointed  by  the  Government  agree  and 
advise,  however  they  may  differ  upon  plans  or  other  points, 
that  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  repair  the  present  levees 
and  build  additional  ones,  so  that  the  commerce  of  the  great 
region  of  the  Valley,  and  the  lands  embraced  therein,  be  pro- 
tected. Every  section  of  our  country  demands  that  this  work 
be  immediately  done  ;  then  there  will  be  reopened  plantations, 
farms  will  be  worked,  and  farming  utensils  of  all  kinds  will  be 
needed,  factories  will  start,  and  the  people  inhabiting  these 
reclaimed  lands  will  want  the  thousand  articles  produced  by 
Northern  skill  and  industry.  Therefore  I  would  ask  this 
Honorable  Convention  that  they  request  their  members  of 
Congress  that  a  bill  be  introduced  that  $50,000,000  be  appro- 
priated for  making  and  repairing  outlets  and  levees  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  ;  the  work  to  be  done  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Engineers  of  the  United  States, 
also  that  the  work  be  completed  within  five  years.  And  I  am 
thoroughly  convinced,  that  if  such  a  bill  be  passed,  and  the 
work  done  as  it  should  be,  that  it  will  repay  the  country  a 
hundred-fold  for  the  expense. 

•Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 


90 

The  President.  "  A  communication  has  been  sent  to  the 
President  of  this  Convention  from  the  Hon.  James  S.  Rollins, 
of  Missouri." 

The  communication  was  submitted  as  follows  : 

COLUMBIA,  Mo.,  October  24, 1881. 
To  the  President  of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement   Convention: 

DEAR  SIR  :  Having  been  appointed  by  Gov.  Crittenden  a  delegate  at 
large  to  the  convention  over  which  you  preside,  I  may  not  be  able  to  attend 
on  account  of  the  delicacy  of  my  health,  and  beg  therefore  to  present 
through  you  to  the  convention  this  communication. 

Fort£-five  years  ago  I  was  a  delegate  from  Boone  county  to  a  conven- 
tion held  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis  on  the  20th  day  of  April,  1836,  for  the  pro- 
motion of  internal  improvements  within  the  State  of  Missouri.  This  was 
the  first  Convention  ever  held  in  the  State  for  this  object,  and  so  far  a- I 
have  knowledge,  the  first  Convention  of  the  kind  ever  held  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river. 

The  following  were  the  delegates  from  the  county  of  Boone :  R.  W.  Mor- 
ris, Wm.  Hunter,  John  W.  Keiser,  Dr.  James  W.  Moss,  D.  M.  Hickman, 
John  B.  Gordon,  James  S.  Rollins,  and  Granville  Branham ;  and  of  these  I 
am  the  only  survivor. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  the  delegates  from  the  county  and  city  of 
St.  Louis :  Edward  Tracy,  John  O'Fallon,  Archibald  Gamble,  M.  Lewis 
Clark,  Henry  Walton,  Henry  Von  Phul,  Wm.  Ayres,  S.  B.  Grant,  Samuel 
Merry,  James  C.  Laveille,  Thornton  Grimsley,  Le welly n  Brown,  George  K. 
McGunnegle,  and  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr. ;  and  of  these  M.  Lewis  Clark,  now  of 
Louisville,  Ky.,  is  the  only  one  living;  and  of  all  the  members  composing 
that  body,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  there  are  not  more  than  four  or  five  of 
the  number  living.  At  that  time  the  Hon.  John  F.  Darby  was  mayor  of  the 
city,  and  aided  largely  in  dispensing  its  generous  hospitality.  He  lives  to  a 
green  old  age,  an  historic  wonder,  abounding  with  pleasant  recollection^, 
observations  and  anecdotes  of  the  city  from  the  time  it  was  a  small  French 
village  to  the  present  day. 

Great  changes  have  occurred  since  the  holding  of  this  convention  in  the 
city  of  St.  Louis,  containing  at  that  time  a  population  not  exceeding  lO.Ooo, 
and  the  State  itself  a  population  of  about  250,000.  Missouri  was  at  that  time 
a  frontier  State. 

The  country  between  the  western  border  of  the  State  and  the  Rocky 
Mountain-,  and  which  now  comprises  the  Indian  Territory,  the  gn-at  States  of 
Kan-a-.  Xebraska  and  Colorado,  was  regarded  a-  a  -andy  and  sterile  desert. 
The  States  of  Iowa.  Minnesota,  and  the  great  territories  lyin^  west  of  tin-in, 
and  stretching  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountain-,  extruding  to  the  month  <>t  the 
Columbia  river.  emhraeing  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  \\ere  almost 
wholly  uninhabited,  save  by  hostile  Indian-,  vast  herds  of  buffalo  and  other 
wild  game  that  roamed  over  the  plain-  ami  through  the  mountains.  It  \\a- 


91 

only  now  and  then  that  the  puff  of  the  steamboat  was  heard  upon  our  rivers, 
and  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  locomotive  had  never  yet  startled  the  denizens 
of  the  forest  in  this  almost  boundloss  valley.  Since  that  time  the  empire  of 
has  been  added  as  a  State  of  the  American  Union:  Xew  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona, and  California  with  its  700  miles  of  coast  upon  the  Pacific  ocean,  not 
to  speak  of  the  still  further  off  territory  of  Alaska,  have  since  been  added  to 
the  domain  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  above  referred  to  I  had  the  honor 
to  introduce  a  resolution  asking  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  memo- 
rialize Congress  for  a  donation  of  public  lands  to  be  appropriated 
under  the  authority  of  the  Legislature  of  Missouri  to  those  objects 
of  internal  improvement  contemplated  by  the  convention.  This  reso- 
lution was  unanimously  adopted.  The  Hon.  Hamilton  R.  Gamble,  Edward 
Bates  and  myself  were  appointed  upon  this  committee;  and.  so  far  a*  I 
know  or  now  remember,  this  was  the  first  memorial  ever  presented  to  Con- 
gress asking  a  grant  of  land  to  aid  in  promoting  objects  of  internal  im- 
provement in  the  Mississippi  Vail ey;  and  allow  me  to  say  with  becoming 
modesty  that  I  have  stuck  to  this  text  with  unflinching  fidelity  from  that 
day  to  this ! 

It  would  be  an  interesting  and  illimitable  theme  to  point  out  what  has 
been  accomplished  in  this  direction  in  the  way  of  population,  development 
and  progress  in  the  western  half  of  our  country  during  these  forty-five 
years.  To  do  so  would  far  exceed  the  appropriate  limits  of  a  letter  like 
this.  Let  the  imagination  of  intelligent  minds  fill  in  the  gap  and  be  amazed 
at  the  wonderful  growth  and  grandeur  of  our  country.  So  much  for  remi- 
niscence. 

Allow  me  to  say,  according  to  my  poor  view,  and  judging  of  the  future 
by  the  past,  with  the  increased  intelligence  and  enterprise  of  the  people,  the 
impulse  to  public  improvements  which  science  has  wrought  in  the  applica- 
tion of  steam  and  electricity  in  every  department  of  human  labor  and  in- 
dustry; in  the  art  of  navigation,  in  the  building  of  railroads  and  telegraph 
lines,  in  leveling  and  tunneling  the  mountains,  in  improving  and  utilizing 
every  species  of  machinery,  and  removing  obstacles  seemingly  insurmount- 
able, opening  up  the  way  for  the  effective  and  rapid  development  of  all  the 
hidden  sources  of  our  vast  internal  wealth,  that  the  American  people  are 
just  entering  upon  another  stage  of  change,  improvement,  amelioration  and 
expansion  which  in  the  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  will  insure 
for  them  a  transcendent  power  that  will  eclipse  all  their  achievements  hith- 
erto in  advancing  civilization,  intellectual  and  moral  growth,  material 
wealth  and  political  power.  So  much  for  prophecy. 

The  intelligent  Convention  over  which  you  preside,  composed  of  a  rep- 
resentation from  eighteen  States  and  Territories  bordering  upon  and  di- 
rectly interested  in  the  improvement  of  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Mi--i-- 
sippi  Valley,  has  a  great  work  before  it  in  devising  a  scheme  which  will  he 
acceptable  to  the  people  of  every  part  of  our  country,  and  whereby  the 
national  Congress  may  be  induced  to  make  such  appropriations  from  the 


92 

national  treasury,  under  a  systemized  plan  of  improvement  of  the  great 
river>.  ^  hich  in  the  end  will  afford  to  all  the  people  who  inhabit  it  the 
ea-icst  and  cheapest  outlet  through  these  natural  channels  of  commerce  for 
the  products  of  their  toil  and  labor  to  the  markets  of  our  own  country  and 
of  all  other  countries  where  there  are  such  exchanges  of  production  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  wants  and  add  to  the  comforts  of  peoples  living  in  distant 
parts  of  the  habitable  globe.  Your  enlightened  body  will  not  be  without 
guidance  upon  this  important  subject.  Superadded  to  the  great  intelli- 
gence of  its  large  representation  you  will  have  the  experience,  the  wisdom 
and  the  recommendations  of  other  similar  bodies  who  have  gone  before  you, 
the  reports  of  learned  scientific  men  showing  the  necessity  and  feasibility  of 
these  improvements,  with  statistics  of  the  population,  the  present  wealth 
and  the  production  of  that  vast  and  fertile  area  of  our  country,  showing  the 
interests  to  be  subserved  and  benefited  by  these  appropriations  and  im- 
provements, as  well  as  the  still  greater  wealth  to  be  added  to  the  aggregate 
wealth  of  the  nation.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me,  in  this  short  communica- 
tion, to  present  these  statistics  here.  You  will  have  before  you  the  able  and 
admirable  address  of  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  Governors  of  States 
upon  the  commerce  and  improvement  of  the  rivers  of  this  valley,  including 
also  the  address  of  the  Hon.  Eugene  Underwood,  President  of  the  Commis- 
sion, presenting  in  a  very  able  manner  the  considerations  and  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  National  Government  taking  hold  and  devising  a  plan  whereby 
the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  these  great  rivers  may  be  accom- 
pli-hed  and  perfected. 

The  arguments  presented  in  the  able  papers  to  which  I  have  referred 
have  not  been,  nor  can  they  be  answered. 

To  accomplish  this  great  work  the  aid  of  the  General  Government  is 
absolutely  essential,  and  without  which  it  cannot  be  done.  For  the  attain- 
ment of  this  object  we  cannot  rely  upon  the  separate  and  sometimes  con- 
flicting action  of  independent  States.  To  achieve  so  great  a  work  we  need 
the  united  effort  of  the  whole  people  of  our  great  country. 

These  are  two  great  and  vital  schemes,  which  must  in  the  future 
command  the  attention  and  unite  the  energies  and  intelligence  of  the 
National  Legislature.  These  are  for  the  General  Government  to  make  Un- 
necessary appropriations  to  improve  and  make  safe  and  easy  the  commerce 
of  those  rivers,  national  in  character,  and  in  which  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  are  interested.  The  other  is  to  make  similar  and  needed  appropria- 
tions from  the  National  Treasury  in  aid  of  the  varied  system  of  free  public 
•  •duration  existing  under  the  laws  of  different  States  and  established  for  tin 
enlightenment  of  the  entire  youth  of  the  country  without  regard  to  sex, 
color  or  condition. 

Without  intelligence,  and  that  enterprise  which  intelligence  brin--. 
neither  the  commerce  nor  the  phy.-i<-al  condition  of  the  country  can  ever  lie 
properly  improved  ;  and  without  the  maintenance  of  a  free  sy-tem  of  public 
-ehools  established  in  all  the  States,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  National  Gov- 
ernment, we  cannot  have  that  general  intelligence  so  essential  to  the  enjoy- 


,  •      93 

rnent  of  rational  freedom  and  the  upholding  of  the  free  Government  under 
which  we  live. 

By  the  omnipotent  aid  of  this  system  of  free  public  schools  we  mu>t 
wipe  from  our  escutcheon  the  dark  stigma  of  having  one  million  five  hun- 
dred thousand  free  men  (according  to  our  last  census)  entitled  to  the  ballot. 
— the  sacred  right  of  suffrage, — who  can  neither  read  nor  write. 

We  are  ever  to  remember  that  our  possibilities  and  capabilities  as  a 
country  do  not  lie  merely  in  our  river.-,  though  affording  more  miles  of  nav- 
igation than  any  other  nation ;  nor  in  our  independent  and  magnificent  cen- 
tral position;  nor  in  our  soil,  though  richer  than  that  washed  by  the  Nile 
itself;  nor  in  our  mountains  of  iron,  or  our  fields  of  coal,  or  mines  of  lead, 
and  the  precious  metals,  or  quarries  of  marble,  or  in  any  other  natural  ad- 
vantage, however  great  and  wonderful.  But  they  do  consist  far  more  in 
the  people  we  are  to  have, — in  our  children  and  youth,  those  who.  in  fact,  are 
soon  to  make  up  and  constitute  the  nation  itself  (for  let  it  be  forever  re- 
membered that  the  people  are  the  State,  and  nothing  else)  , — those  who  are 
to  possess  and  use  all  its  vast  and  untold  resources  and  means  of  enjoy- 
ment, who  are  to  develop  its  civilization,  and  to  create  for  it  the  name  and 
glory  which  it  is  to  have  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

But  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  our  theme — the  improvement  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries.  It  is  a  vast  enterprise. 
The  danger  is  that  we  may  ask  too  much  by  attempting  too  much  at  the 
same  time.  It  occurs  to  me.  that  if  the  Convention  would  recommend  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  with  appropriations  sufficient  to 
enter  vigorously  upon  the  work,  as  an  entering  wedge  for  the  improvement 
of  its  larger  tributaries  in  the  future,  it  would  be  far  better  than  to  attempt 
any  log-rolling  scheme,  by  which  bills  are  often  loaded  down  and  de- 
feated. The  strength  of  the  friends  of  the  measure  would  not  then  be  frit- 
tered away,  for  there  is  no  man  who  will  ever  in  the  future  wend  his  way 
into  the  hall  of  either  house  of  Congress  from  this  valley  who  will  deny  that 
the  Mississippi  river  is  a  national  stream  and  entitled  to  this  recognition  by 
making  necessary  appropriations  for  its  improvement.  Any  one  who  would 
vote  against  a  proposition  like  that  may  at  once  be  set  down  as  incorrigible 
and  opposed  to  all  schemes  and  appropriations  by  the  General  Government 
for  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  any  river,  whether  it  be  local  or 
national  in  its  character.  With  the  main  river  properly  improved  under  the 
direction  of  able  and  enlightened  engineers,  and  with  its  banks  made  secure 
from  the  Jetties  to  St.  Paul,  its  navigation  made  easy,  safe  and  economical, 
the  commerce  of  this  great  valley  would  seek  its  outlet  mainly  through  this 
channel,  and  it  would  force  at  once  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  all 
it>  tributaries  worthy  to  receive  such  aid.  and  which  would  be  promptly 
afforded  either  by  the  government  of  the  States  through  which  these  rivers 
flow,  or  both  by  the  State  and  the  General  Government.  In  other  words,  the 
improvement  of  the  MN-is~ippi  river  proper  would  lead  quickly  to  the  im- 
provement of  all  its  tributaries,  whose  people  living  along  its  line  would  seek 
an  outlet  for  the  products  of  their  labor,  and  the  furnishing  of  their  supplies 


94     • 

through  the  common  channel.  My  suggestion  would,  therefore,  be,  in  order 
to  obviate  any  objection,  to  concentrate  all  your  forces  upon  the  question  of 
obtaining  a  sufficient  appropriation  for  the  improvement  of  the  entire  length 
of  the  Mississippi  river  proper,  and  as  far  as  the  main  stream  may  be  made 
navigable.  It  can  never  be  out  of  place,  nor  can  the  quotation  be  too  often 
repeated,  the  description  given  of  this  river  by  our  former  great  Senator, 
}Ir.  Benton,  many  years  ago,  in  which  he  says :  '-Wonderful  river!  connected 
with  seas  by  the  head  and  by*  the  mouth,  stretching  its  arms  towards  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  lying  in  a  valley  which  is  a  valley  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  Hudson  Bay;  drawing  its  first  waters  not  from  rugged  mountains, 
but  from  the  plateau  of  the  lakes  in  the  center  of  the  continent,  and  in  com- 
munication with  the  sources  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  streams  which  take 
their  course  north  to  Hudson's  Bay ;  draining  the  largest  extent  of  the  richest 
land ;  collecting  the  products  of  every  clime,  even  the  frigid,  to  bear  the 
whole  to  market  in  the  South,  and  there  to  meet  the  products  of  the  entire 
world.  Such  is  the  Mississippi,  and  who  can  calculate  the  aggregate  of  its 
advantages  and  the  magnitude  of  its  future  results?" 

But  I  need  not  go  further.  The  time  is  at  hand  when  the  claims  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley  can  no  longer  be  ignored.  The  sceptre  has  already 
departed  from  Judah !  The  potent  voice  of  the  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives from  eighteen  States  lying  within  and  bordering  upon  this  great 
valley  can  no  longer  be  stifled  or  silenced.  Whatever  may  be  the  result  of 
the  action  of  this  Convention,  it  is  a  mere  question  of  time  as  to  when  the 
voice  of  the  people  of  this  valley  will  be  heard  and  obeyed.  Every  intelli- 
gent mind  must  see  and  feel  that  the  political  power  of  the  Government  is 
rapidly  concentrating  here;  that  here  is  to  be  the  seat  of  empire,  from 
whence  will  emanate  your  laws,  your  great  national  politics,  and  whereby 
the  destiny  of  the  continent  will  be  directed  and  controlled.  A  lack  of  con- 
cert of  action,  temporary  causes,  the  division  of  trade  and  commerce  by 
artificial  means,  may  hinder  and  prevent  for  the  time  being  the  ultimate  con- 
trol, as  I  have  predicted  it;  but  this  mountain-  and  lake-  and  gulf -locked 
valley,  unsurpassed  in  the  extent  of  its  resources  and  undeveloped  wealth. 
capable  within  itself  of  sustaining  a  population  ten  times  greater  than  tin- 
population  of  the  United  States, — this  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  which 
drains  a  thirtyrsixth  part  of  the  land  surface  of  the  globe  itself,  and  which, 
ri-ing  near  the  lakes  of  the  north,  so  near  as  to  make  their  shores  tributary 
to  its  valley,  and  flowing  through  more  than  twenty  decrees  of  latitude, 
a  fiords  a  variety  of  production  for  commercial  interchange,  compared  with 
which  the  productions  of  the  Amazon,  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  or 
the  valley  of  the  Danube,  or  the  Black  and  Baltic  seas,  must,  under  the 
highest  development,  remain  utterly  insignificant.  The  Mediterranean 
system  and  the  valley  of  the  Amazon,  of  the  Baltic  and  Black  seas,  are 
limited  in  their  products  by  the  climatic  uniformity  of  a  -in^le  /one.  But 
here  is  a  valley  developing  north  and  southward,  almost  from  the  frigid  io 
the  torrid  zone,  in  extent  of  area  2,231,000  square  miles,  all  of  it  a  part  Of 
our  great  country,  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,— a  land  upon  whose  distant  mountain-tops  the  >m.w  never  melts,  and 


95 

in  whose  green  valley  beautiful  flowers  never  cease  to  bloom.  This  vast 
valley,  with  its  inconceivable  riches  from  the  soil,  and  beneath  its  soil;  from 
its  cereals,  its  cotton,  tobacco,  hemp,  fruits ;  from  its  ores,  timber,  its  water- 
power,  its  Bailie,  its  populous  towns  and  cities,  its  growing  manufactories, 
with  everything,  in  fact,  needed  for  human  sustenance,  comfort,  happiness 
and  civilization,  with  possibilities  even  beyond  conception  or  comprehen- 
sion ;  lying,  too,  in  the  centre  of  the  continent,  with  no  Alpine  barriers  to 
oppose  its  outlet, — what  to-day  is  its  chief  want,  its  commanding  necessity? 
It  is  that  the  very  channels  which  the  Almighty  has  furnished  shall  be  im- 
proved and  made  available  by  man's  skill  and  labor.  Why,  it  w^ould  seem 
to  be  in  the  very  order  of  Providence  that  the  National  Government  should 
do  its  part!  And  it  must  be  done  in  order  to  enable  the  people  to  enjoy  the 
very  beneficence  of  our  Creator;  and  that  it  will  be,  there  cannot  be  a 
rational  doubt. 

The  people,  gentlemen,  of  this  great  valley,  nay,  I  say  of  the  entire 
country,  and  of  all  who  are  well-wishers  of  the  success  of  free  government 
on  the  American  continent,  look  with  hope,  and  anxiety  and  with  confidence 
to  the  deliberations  of  your  body,  so  to  direct  the  legislation  of  the  country 
as  to  insure  the  success  of  these  great  enterprises  at  the  earliest  practicable 
time. 

I  am,  with  very  high  regard,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  S.  ROLLINS. 

The  President.  "  This  communication  will  become  a  part 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  if  there  is  no  objection. 
The  Chair  hears  none." 

The  Secretary  read  the  following  communication : 

ST.  Louis,  October  24. 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,   Corresponding  Secretary  River  Improve- 
ment Convention : 

DEAR  SIR — The  Committee  on  Exhibition  of  the  St.  Louis 
School  and  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  desires  to  extend  to  the 
delegates  attending  the  Convention  a  cordial  invitation  to 
visit  the  galleries  of  the  Museum. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  officers  and  members  of  the  Board 
of  Control  that  the  Museum  should  be  known  as  it  really  is, 
as  an  institution  established  for  the  advancement  of  the  West 
and  South,  and  not  for  local  use  alone. 

I  send  herewith  a  package  of  tickets,  which  may  be  made 
use  of  by  those  who  wish. 

Very  respectfully, 

HALSEY  C.  IVES,  Director, 

W.  G.  ELIOT,  For  the  Committee  on  Exhibition. 

Chancellor. 


96 

The  following  communication  was  also  read : 

MERCANTILE  LIBRARY, 
ST.  Louis,  Oct.  26,  1881. 
The  St.  Louis  Mercantile  Library  Association  extends  a 
cordial  invitation  to  the  delegates  attending  the  Mississippi 
River  Improvement  Convention  to  visit  its  rooms  during  their 
sojourn  in  the  city. 

The  reading-room  is  supplied  with  the  principal  news- 
papers  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  is  open  from  nine 
o'clock  A.  M.  to  ten  o'clock  p.  M. 

Very  respectfully, 

JOHN  N.  DYER, 

Librarian. 

Mr.  Roots,  of  Arkansas.  "  I  move  that  the  thanks  of  this 
body  be  returned  to  the  bodies  extending  these  cordial  invita- 
tions, and  that  as  many  members  as  can  conveniently,  accept 
the  same." 

The  motion  was  seconded  and  carried. 

A  delegate.  "A  gentleman  from  Kentucky,  high  in  the 
position  he  occupies,  has  requested  me  to  present  these  reso- 
lutions to  the  Convention,  and  have  them  referred.  I  now 
make  the  motion  if  there  is  no  objection." 

The  resolutions  were  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  River 
Commission  is  hereby  directed  to  the  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  slack-water  navigation  from  the  Ohio  river  to  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,  by  connecting  by  canal  the  waters  of  the 
Kentucky  river  and  the  Cumberland  river  (via  Cumberland 
Gap)  with  the  waters  of  the  Tennessee  river,  and  of  the  Sa- 
vannah river ;  and 

Resolved,  Furthermore,  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  be  and  is  hereby  requested  to  make  adequate  appropri- 
ation for  surveying  and  determining  the  cost  of  construction 
of  the  aforesaid  important  cheap  transportation  water-way 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  river  to  Savannah,  Georgia. 

A  delegate.  "  I  wish  to  make  the  point  of  order  that  it  is 
not  germain  under  the  call  of  this  Convention." 


97 

m 

The  President.  "  The  resolutions  can  be  referred.  I  over- 
rule the  point  of  order." 

Mr.  Osborne,  of  New  York.     "  I  offer  the  following  : 

"Resolved,  That  we,  as  a  Convention,  protest  against  the 
pernicious  practice  of  indiscriminate  Congressional  appropria- 
tions to  brooks,  mill-streams,  puddles,  ponds,  clam-bays, 
oyster-harbors,  and  all  classes  of  imaginary,  useless  and  unim- 
portant bodies  of  unnavigable  water."  [Cheers  and  laughter.] 

The  resolution  was  referred. 

A  delegate  from  Nebraska  offered  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention  the  Mis- 
souri river,  with  its  3,000  miles  of  navigation  and  flowing  past 
and  through  four  States  and  three  Territories,  should  be 
placed  by  the  Government  in  charge  of  a  commission  of  engi- 
neers, organized  as  is  the  Mississippi  River  Commission. 

Mr.  Roots,  of  Arkansas,  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  permanent  Secretary  of  this  Conven- 
tion, acting  in  connection  with  the  Committee  which  issued 
the  call  for  this  Convention,  be  and  hereby  is  authorized  to 
print  and  distribute  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  proceedings  of 
this  Convention,  and  to  also  print  and  distribute  such  other  sta- 
tistics and  information  as  may  in  his  judgment  be  considered 
sufficiently  worthy  and  important. 

Mr.  Roots.  "It  seems  to  me  this  should  be  adopted  with- 
out reference  ;  I  suggest  its  immediate  consideration  ;  I  don't 
propose  to  discuss  it." 

Mr.  Kenner,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 
"I  would  state  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
that  they  have  a  resolution  of  a  similar  character  under  con- 
sideration, and  they  would  ask  this  be  referred  to  that  Com- 
mittee." 

Mr.  Roots.     "  I  have  no  objection  to  its  reference." 

The  President.     "  It  will  be  referred." 

Mr.  Birch,  of  Missouri.     "I  was  not  present  when  my 

7 


98 

State  was  called.     I  desire  to  offer  a  resolution.     With  the 
permission  of  the  Chair  I  will  read  it : 

"Resolved,  That  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  navigable  tributaries  is  the  highest  practical  politi- 
ical  duty  of  the  people  who  inhabit  the  Mississippi  Valley ; 
and  that,  until  it  shall  be  fully  resolved  upon  on  a  scale  com- 
mensurate with  the  great  agricultural  and  commercial  inter- 
ests involved,  the  citizens  of  this  valley  should  subordinate  all 
other  business  politics  and  act  as  a  unit  in  the  enforcement  of 
this  imperative  necessity ;  and  be  it  further 

"Resolved,  That  as  a  means  for  its  inauguration  and  com- 
pletion, we  recommend  the  levy  of  an  export  duty  upon  the 
agricultural  products  of  the  country  of  one  per  cent,  as  a 
special  improvement  fund,  with  which,  within  twenty  years, 
we  will  be  enabled  successfully  to  solve  this  great  problem." 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  Childs,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following,  which  was 
also  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  any 
system  of  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries that  may  be  adopted  by  this  Convention,  or  by  Con- 
gress, shall  commence  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  follow 
the  same  to  the  sources  of  the  streams  improved. 

Mr.  Kenner,  of  Louisiana.  "As  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions  I  ask  that  we  be  allowed  to  withdraw 
to  a  room  in  another  part  of  the  building,  in  order  to  take 
into  consideration  the  various  matters  which  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  us  this  morning." 

Leave  was  granted. 

Mr.  Hogan,of  Missouri.  "Resolutions  having  been  offered 
and  referred,  I  now  renew  the  motion  which  I  made  a  while 
ago,  that  a  member  of  the  River  Commission  now  be  heard 
from,  in  explanation  of  their  plans,  if  they  wish." 

Mr.  Stanard,  of  Missouri.     "  I  second  the  motion." 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried. 


99 

The  President.  "  The  Convention  has  voted  to  hear  a 
statement  from  the  Mississippi  River  Commission,  and  any 
gentleman  from  that  Commission  will  now  be  in  order." 

Judge  R.  S.  Taylor,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  a  member  of 
the  Mississippi  River  Commission,  then  came  forward,  and 
having  been  introduced  by  the  President,  spoke  as  follows  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  :  It  is  with  a 
real  sense  of  embarrassment  that  I  appear  in  your  presence  in  response  to 
your  kind  invitation.  I  feel  an  intense  solicitude  with  regard  to  the  delib- 
erations of  this  Convention,  but  being  here  as  your  invited  guest  merely.  I 
do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  say  the  thoughts  that  are  in  my  mind  quite  as  freely 
as  I  otherwise  might.  I  can,  however,  without  impropriety,  congratulate 
you  upon  the  success  which  has  thus  far  attended  your  meeting,  and  par- 
ticularly upon  the  number  and  variety,  and  the  general  excellency  of  the 
resolutions  that  we  have  heard  read.  It  is  an  old  saying,  you  know,  that 
••  the  road  to  hell  is  paved  with  good  resolutions."  [Laughter.]  We  have 
had  enough  of  them  to-day  to  macadamize  the  whole  route.  [Laughter.] 
But  when  it  is  done  we  will  travel  the  road  the  other  way. 

The  members  of  the  Mississippi  River  Commission  look  with  interest 
upon  the  outcome  of  this  Convention.  Two  years  ago  they  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  law.  They  have  been 
during  those  two  years  engaged  in  work  preparatory  only.  They  have 
been  engaged  in  an  extensive  system  of  surveys,  in  careful  examination  and 
observation,  in  the  comparison  of  all  the  data  that  could  be  gathered  from 
previous  surveys  and  observations,  in  consideration  of  all  that  was  known 
about  the  river  by  engineers,  by  river  men,  and  by  all.  Upon  some  of  the 
great  questions  involved  they  have  reached  definite  and  final  conclusions. 
They  have  adopted  a  plan  of  improvement,  which  has  been  laid  before 
Congress,  and  approved  by  that  body.  An  appropriation  of  one  million 
dollars  has  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  commencing  the  improvements 
thus  recommended.  The  Commission  have  made  extensive  preparations 
for  the  execution  of  the  work  thus  committed  to  them.  They  have  in  hand 
a  fleet  of  nearly  two  hundred  boats,  great  and  small,  finished,  or  in  course 
of  construction,  together  with  a  vast  collection  of  machinery,  material,  and 
equipment.  They  stand  to-day  upon  the  threshold  of  their  work.  Whether 
that  work  shall  be  carried  forward  to  completion  and  usefulness,  or  aban- 
doned at  its  inception,  with  the  loss  of  all  the  costly  preparation  which  has 
been  made  for  it,  will  depend  upon  the  measures  that  may  be  taken  by 
Congress.  Congress,  however,  is  a  body  which,  like  many  others,  moves 
as  it  is  moved  upon.  And  in  this  Convention  is  easily  recognized  a  force  to 
move  upon  Congress  as  no  other  influence  can.  There  are  some  things, 
therefore,  which  I  would  like  to  say.  if  I  felt  at  liberty  to  do  so,  as  to  that 
which  I  would  like  to  see  done,  and  that  which  I  hope  may  not  be  done  by 
this  Convention.  [Several  voices :  "  Go  on !  go  on ! "] 


100 

There  is  one  thing  which  I  need  not  hesitate  to  say,  and  that  is  this : 
The  mere  assembling  of  this  Convention  is  its  greatest  success ;  and  its  in- 
fluence will  be  sensibly  felt  in  the  formation  of  public  opinion,  in  the  legis- 
lation of  Congress,  and  in  the  progress  of  the  improvements  contemplated, 
if  it  shall  make  no  mistake  hereafter.  Your  work  was  half  done  when  you 
met  in  this  hall.  The  presence,  in  this  city,  of  this  vast  body  of  represen- 
tative men,  coming  together  from  sixteen  States  of  the  Union,  is  itself  the 
mountain  in  the  landscape,  dwarfing  all  else  by  the  breadth  of  its  base,  and 
the  sublimity  of  its  height.  You  could  return  to  your  homes  without  having 
said  a  word  of  formal  utterance,  and  yet  feel  that  your  coming  had  not 
failed  of  its  purpose.  How  greatly,  therefore,  is  it  to  be  hoped  that  that 
which  has  been  so  grandly  and  wisely  done  already,  may  not  be  marred  by 
one  unwise  word. 

It  is  most  important  of  all  things,  that  in  the  proceedings  of  this  Con- 
vention there  shall  be  final  unanimity  and  harmony.  Its  voice,  to  be  effec- 
tive, must  be  like  the  verdict  of  a  jury,  unanimous.  You  heard  from  ttie 
distinguished  gentleman  who  delivered  the  eloquent  address  of  welcome 
yesterday,  a  beautiful  illustration  drawn  from  the  great  river  itself.  Let  me 
borrow  it,  and  carry  it  a  little  further.  The  Father  of  Waters,  having 
traversed  the  continent,  and  created  in  its  course  an  inland  sea  twelve 
hundred  miles  long,  made  one  fatal  mistake  at  last, — it  divided  at  its  mouth 
into  four  or  five  shallow  channels,  and  so  shut  the  gate  between  itself  and 
the  great  sea.  Let  me  hope  that  this  Convention  will  form  no  delta  at  its 
mouth,  and  that  the  voice  of  it  shall  come  forth  from  one  throat,  and  speak 
with  one  tongue. 

There  are  some  other  things,  gentlemen,  to  which  I  might,  perhaps, 
writh  propriety  allude  for  a  moment.  My  personal  connection  with  this 
work  is  of  recent  duration.  Coining  to  it,  I  find  that  the  Mississippi  river,  great 
among  rivers  as  the  Bible  among  books,  is,  like  the  Bible,  the  subject  of 
great  difference  of  opinion  among  those  who  have  studied  it  much.  I  have 
brought  to  my  study  of  the  question  one  qualification  which  is  deemed  to  be 
absolutely  necessary  in  a  juror,  and  that  is,  a  profound  ignorance  of  the 
subject.  [Laughter.]  And  so  as  an  ignorant  and  impartial  juror,  I  have 
endeavored  to  consider  dispassionately  all  sides  of  what  I  have  found  to  be 
a  great  controversy,  t  have  heard  many  very  contradictory  views  expressed. 
I  have  heard  a  score  of  different  plans  proposed  for  the  improvement  of  the 
river.  I  have  been  told,  for  example,  that  the  thing  to  do  is  to  straighten 
the  crooks,  and  run  the  water  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Gulf  by  the  shortest  line 
po>>ibli-.  I  h;w-  bcon  told,  on  the  other  side,  that  every  cut-off  i>  a  calamity, 
that  it  increases  the  velocity  above  and  below,  and  so  aggravates  the  caving 
of  banks,  enlargement  of  bends,  and  formation  of  bars,  as  to  result  finally  in 
restoring  the  river's  original  length.  I  have  been  told  on  one  side  that  the 
only  relief  for  the;  lower  river  consists  in  letting  off  the  water  of  its  great 
floods  by  side  cuts  into  the  swamps  and  bayous,  through  which  it  can  find 
its  way  to  the  sea  by  other  channels.  I  have  been  told  on  the  other  side 
that  then-suit  of  thN  would  b«-  lik<-  taking  blood  from  tin-arm  of  a  strong  man ; 


101 

that  the  enfeebled  current  would  be  no  longer  able  to  carry  its  load  of  sedi- 
ment, and  would  drop  it  in  shoals  and  bars.  I  have  been  told  on  the  one  side 
that  the  great  want  of  the  river  is  levees;  that  by  the  erection  of  a  complete 
>\  -inn  of  levees  along  the  entire  river,  the  water  will  be  confined  in  one 
fixed  channel,  the  current  increased  in  depth  and  velocity,  and  so  enabled  to 
scour  its  own  bed  deeper  and  deeper.  On  the  other  side  I  have  been  told 
that  the  sure  consequence  of  levees  is  to  cause  increased  deposit  of  sediment 
on  the  bottom  of  the  river ;  that  by  that  means  the  whole  river — bed,  water 
and  banks — will  be  bodily  lifted  up,  higher  and  higher, -until  the  Mississippi 
will  run  down  to  the  sea  on  the  top  of  a  great  embankment,  from  which  it  will 
be  in  perpetual  danger  of  slipping  off  into  the  cotton  fields  and  sugar  plan- 
tations adjacent. 

Xow,  in  the  midst  of  such  a  maze  of  contradictory  theories  what  is  an 
ignoramus  like  me  to  do?  The  thing  that  seems  to  me  wisest  is  this :  I  go 
back  to  the  safe  analogies  of  theology  and  religion ;  I  look  to  see  who  have 
studied  these  questions  most,  and  with  best  opportunities  to  understand 
them.  I  find  upon  the  river  and  its  tributaries  engineers  sent  out  by  the 
Government  for  the  express  purpose  of  studying  their  phenomena,  and  de- 
vising methods  for  their  improvement.  Among  them  are  men  who  have 
given  the  better  part  of  their  lives  to  the  study  of  these  great  questions,  and 
who  have  conducted  extensive  and  costly  experiments  in  practical  works  of 
improvement.  I  find  upon  the  Commission  military  engineers  of  world- 
wide celebrity,  who  come  to  it  from  other  fields  of  labor,  rich  in  learning 
and  experience,  and  unembarrassed  by  previous  prejudices  in  relation  to 
this  particular  work.  I  also  find  upon  the  Commission  two  civil  engineers 
of  the  greatest  ability,  who  have  made  the  Mississippi  river  one  of  the  chief 
studies  of  their  lives :  Mr.  B.  M.  Harrod,  of  Xew  Orleans,  and  your  own 
illustrious  fellow-citizen.  Mr.  James  B.  Eads  [Cheers.]. — a  man  to  whom 
the  city  of  St.  Louis  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  she  can  never  repay ; 
who  has  brought  to  your  doors  the  commerce  of  the  laud  by  the  beautiful 
bridge  that  stands  upon  your  wharf,  and  the  commerce  of  the  sea  through 
the  Jetties  at  the  Gulf.  To  these  I  may  add  the  Chief  of  Engineers  at 
Washington,  whose  official  duties  have  required  him  to  investigate  all  the 
questions  involved  as  carefully  as  though  he  had  been  personally  in  charge 
of  the  work. 

Xow,  I  find,  on  examination,  that  all  these  men. — on  the  Commission 
and  off  of  it, — while  disagreeing  on  some  matters  of  detail,  as  do  good  and 
wise  divines  upon  infant  baptism,  perseverance  in  grace,  and  the  like,  are,  as 
to  the  great  plan  of  salvation,  in  entire  harmony.  [Laughter  and  applause.] 
I  say  to  myself ,  therefore :  ••  These  are  the  orthodox  leaders,  and  to  their 
mat-tails  I  will  pin  my  faith."  When  I  find  such  men  as  Gillmore,  Corn- 
stock.  Mitchell,  Suter,  Benyuard.  Ernst.  Harrod  and  Eads. — men  who  have 
brought  to  the  investigation  of  these  great  problems  every  prerequisite  of 
genius  and  education,  and  who  have  pursued  it  by  separate  and  independent 
paths,  concurring  at  last  upon  all  the  fundamental  principles  involved.  I  am 
bound  to  believe  that  the  conclusions  which  they  have  reached  are  entitled  to 


102 

our  confidence,  as  the  best  that  are  attainable  in  the  present  state  of  human 
knowledge. 

If  you  will  allow  me,  gentlemen,  I  will  go  a  little  further  on  the  subject 
of  the  plans  of  the  Commission.  I  am  not  an  engineer,  and  therefore  I  can 
speak  of  those  plans,  and  of  their  merits,  with  a  degree  of  propriety  which 
would  illy  become,  perhaps,  any  other  member  of  the  Commission.  My 
place  upon  it  is  peculiar.  It  is  like  that  of  one  member  of  a  committee 
appointed  by  the  Governor  of  a  State  not  ten  thousand  miles  from  here,  to 
revise  the  laws.  The  Constitution  required  that  the  laws  should  be  made  so 
that  they  could  be  understood  by  a  man  of  ordinary  intelligence.  [Laugh- 
ter.] The  Governor  appointed  a  committee  of  three  to  revise  them ;  two  of 
them  were  lawyers  and  the  other  was  a  man  who  didn't  know  anything 
about  law,  and  not  much  about  anything ;  and  in  explanation  of  the  appoint- 
ment the  Governor  said  if  the  two  lawyers  could  make  the  laws  so  the  other 
man  could  understand  them,  the  object  would  be  attained.  That  is  my 
place  upon  this  Commission, — to  see  whether  the  engineers  can  lay  their 
plans  so  that  I  can  understand  them.  [Laughter.] 

I  will  not  detain  you,  gentlemen,  by  going  into  details,  but  will  confine  my- 
self to  a  few  very  general  observations.  All  the  plans  of  the  Commission  rest 
upon  this  primary  proposition :  that  the  improvement  of  the  river  consists 
essentially  in  so»  regulating  the  width  of  its  channel  that  it  shall  bear  a 
proper  ratio  to  the  volume  of  water  discharged,  and  in  confining  the  water  to- 
such  regulated  channel,  so  that  it  shall,  by  its  own  force  and  velocity,  keep 
its  bed  scoured  out  clean.  Upon  this,  as  the  final  desideratum  in  every  such 
case,  all  engineers  in  the  world  agree,  so  far  as  I  know. 

The  problem  presented  in  the  application  of  this  principle  of  improve- 
ment to  the  Mississippi  river  is  a  little  different  from  any  that  ever  before 
taxed  the  ingenuity  of  men.  There  is  not  on  the  face  of  the  earth  any  other 
river  having  a  channel  so  long  and  wide,  carrying  a  volume  of  water  so 
great,  through  banks  composed  of  such  soft  and  friable  material.  To  regu- 
late the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  river  by  means  of  any  solid  wall,  or  stone 
revetment,  or  any  structures  of  plank  or  timber,  which  could  by  their 
strength  and  solidity  resist  the  force  of  the  current,  is  impossible.  That 
which  cannot  be  done  by  force  or  strength,  must  be  done,  if  at  all,  by 
stratagem.  The  forces  of  the  river,  so  mighty  to  tear  down,  must  be  taught 
to  build  up.  The  water  must  be  made  not  only  to  dig  its  own  channel, 
but  to  construct  its  own  banks.  The  material  for  this  work  is  the  sand 
and  soil  borne  down  by  the  current.  To  compel  the  water  to  drop  this 
sediment  just  when  and  where  it  is  needed  to  build  ne\v  banks,  and 
nowhere  else,  is  the  task  which  challenges  the  strategy  of  the  engineer. 

While  the  Mississippi  river  has  the  strength  of  Samson,  and  tosse>  i.-la  n«l< 
and  bars  from  side  to  side,  as  though  they  were  li#l  it  asrhatf.  it  hasai  ihoamr 
time  the  ueaknessofSamson, — it  is  easily  seduced.  You  remember  how  Deli- 
lah came  it  over  him.  [Laughter.]  Tin-  amount  of  snliil  matter  which  tin* 
river  hold-  in  -olntion  i-  enormous,  and  it  carrier  it,  from  mountain  to  -.-a 
without  exertion  or  fatigue.  But  one  inexorable  la\v  follows  it  like  :t 


103 

decree  of  fate, — it  must  run  with  its  load,  or  let  it  fall.  If  it  slacken  its 
speed  but  for  a  moment,  the  specks  of  earth  which  it  carries  trickle  to  the 
ground  thick  as  flakes  of  snow.  And  it  is  by  the  knowledge  of  this  weak- 
ness, and  by  skilfully  taking  advantage  of  it,  that  the  engineer  is  able  to 
make  the  tremendous  forces  of  the  river  obedient  to  his  will.  The  devices 
proposed  for  this  purpose  are  very  simple  and  very  cheap.  They  consist 
of  slight  structur.es  of  piles,  of  wire,  and  of  brush,  combined  and  applied 
in  various  forms, — structures  so  slight  that  you  would  hardly  believe  it 
possible  that  they  could  produce  the  great  results  expected  from  them. 

It  was  not  my  intention,  gentlemen,  to  enter  into  any  detailed  account 
of  these  devices ;  but  I  am  tempted  by  your  forbearance,  and  your  manifest 
interest  in  the  subject,  to  go  a  little  farther  in  that  direction.  And  I  will,  if 
you  please,  take  one  example  of  common  occurrence  on  the  river,  and  one 
method  of  improvement  applied  to  such  a  case,  and  explain  the  process  to 
you  so  minutely,  that  any  one  of  you  could  do  it  himself, — if  he  had  the 
money. 

I  will  suppose  the  case  of  a  portion  of  the  river  five  or  ten  miles  long, 
and  two  miles  wide,  with  a  bed  so  broad  and  level,  that  in  extreme  low 
water  it  will  not  show  a  depth  anywhere  exceeding  four  feet.  The  problem 
is  to  convert  this  broad  shallow  stream  into  a  narrow  deep  one.  The  engi- 
neer determines  first  upon  a  width  of,  say,  three  thousand  feet  for  the  new 
channel,  which  he  then  locates  upon  such  lines  of  direction  and  curvature 
as  seem  to  conform  best  to  the  courses  of  the  current  above  and  below,  and 
the  laws  that  control  the  movements  of  flowing  water.  I  will  suppose  the 
entire  space  across  the  river-bed  to  be  represented  by  the  width  of  this 
hall,  and  the  proposed  new  channel  to  be  represented  by  the  central  tier  of 
seats  in  front  of  me.  The  two  aisles  on  the  right  and  left  will  then  repre- 
sent the  shore  lines  of  the  improved  river,  and  the  side  tiers  of  seats  the 
spaces  to  be  built  up  with  earth  to  form  the  new  banks.  In  the  example 
supposed,  these  spaces  will  be  each  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide. 

These  must  be  filled  with  earth  over  their  whole  surface  to  a  depth  of 
thirty  or  forty  feet, — a  pretty  extensive  undertaking,  as  you  will  readily 
perceive.  The  next  step  in  the  work  is  to  drive  a  row  of  piles  along  each 
side  of  the  proposed  new  channel,  which  I  have  represented  by  these  two 
aisles.  Among  these  piles  are  interwoven  long,  slender,  willow  poles,  in  and 
out,  from  pile  to  pile,  like  gigantic  basket  work,  and  extending  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  above  low  water  mark.  The  proposed  new  channel  is  thus  in- 
closed on  each  side  by  a  strong,  coarse  screen,  through  which  water  will 
flow  quite  freely,  but  with  much  diminished  velocity.  At  right  angles  with 
these  screens,  and  at  intervals  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet,  transverse 
screens  of  exactly  the  same  character  are  constructed  to  the  bank  on  each 
side  of  the  river. 

Thus  the  space  which  it  is  desired  to  cover  with  earth  is  all  fenced  in 
with  these  permeable  screens,  and  subdivided  into  compartments  by  par- 
titions of  the  same  kind,  so  that  it  resembles,  in  a  vague  way,  a  vast  beer- 
garden,  a  thousand  acres  in  size,  and  cut  up  with  rustic  trellises  and  arbors. 


104 

Then,  as  the  dirty  water  of  the  Mississippi  comes  meandering  along,  it  slips 
through  those  screens,  into  this  garden,  as  innocently  as  any  country  green- 
horn was  ever  taken  in  in  St.  Louis.  [Laughter.]  But  the  moment  it 
passes  the  screen,  it  finds  its  velocity  slackened, — the  law  of  its  being  is 
upon  it.  and  it  must  let  go  part  of  its  load.  So  down  go  the  little  particles 
of  sand  and  loam  to  the  bottom.  And  by  the  time  the  water  wanders  round 
through  all  the  compartments  of  the  beer-garden,  and  gets  out  at  the  lower 
end,  it  finds  itself,  like  a  good  many  men  who  venture  into  strange  places, — 
minus  a  good  share  of  its  portable  property.  [Laughter.] 

Xow,  I  have  no  doubt,  this  strikes  you  as  a  very  whimsical  and  trifling 
scheme  for  the  accomplishment  of  so  great  a  work.  And  I  am  sure  you 
would  be  amazed,  as  I  have  been,  to  see  the  results  produced  by  it.  I  un- 
derstand that  you  are  going  to  take  an  excursion  down  the  river  to-morrow. 
J  am  sorry  it  is  so  high,  because  if  it  were  not,  you  could  see  on  that  occa- 
sion the  very  thing  which  I  have  been  describing  to  you.  At  Horsetail  Bar, 
where  Capt.  O.  H.  Ernst,  of  the  United  States  Engineers,  has  been  at  work 
about  two  years,  you  could  see  a  space  several  miles  long,  embracing  more 
than  a  thousand  acres  of  land,  which  has  been  filled  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  deep  with  solid  earth,  all  coaxed  from  the  Mississippi  river  by  tickling 
its  flanks  with  willow  brush.  At  the  same  time,  the  river,  being  confined  by 
these  contraction  works  to  a  three  thousand  feet  channel  has  scoured  several 
additional  feet  of  depth  in  its  own  bed.  You  will  understand,  of  course, 
that  the  description  I  have  given  you  is  but  an  illustration  of  one  mode  of 
dealing  with  one  form  of  river-bed  in  which  improvement  is  required. 

As  the  general  question  presents  itself  to  me,  it  is  reduced  to  these 
very  small  and  narrow  limits :  the  plans  now  proposed  for  the  improvement 
of  the  Mississippi  river  are  the  best  that  the  knowledge,  experience  and 
skill  of  the  present  age  can  suggest;  if  they  cannot  be  made  successful,  no 
man  knows  now  where  to  turn  for  success ;  and  if  the  river  can  be  controlled 
by  some  such  simple  and  inexpensive  means  as  those  now  proposed,  then  its 
improvement  is  possible;  if  not,  not. 

There  are  some  other  topics,  gentlemen,  connected  with  the  duties  of 
tht-  <  'ommission,  to  which  I  would  allude  if  time  permitted.  The  Commis- 
sion is  required  by  law  to  consider  specifically  the  subjects  of  reservoirs, 
of  outlets,  and  of  levees.  These  have  all  received  the  attention  of  the  Com- 
niN-ion.  Their  views  upon  them,  so  far  as  matured,  have  been  expressed 
in  th'-ir  reports  to  Congress.  One  of  those  subjects — that  of  levees — has 
been,  and  must  continue  to  be,  a  topic  of  special  study  and  investigation. 
The  Commission  have  collected  and  pre-<-nt<-d  in  their  reports  many 
important  facts  bearing  upon  it,  and  others  will  follow.  It  is  a  subject  too 
vast  in  importance  to  !><•  lightly  <-on-idered,  or  hastily  disposed  of.  It 
remains  in  the  hands  of  the  Comini—ion.  to  be  dealt  with  as  experience, 
future  emergencies,  and  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress  shall  indi- 
cate. 

'•••ntlemen,  if  you  will  allow  me.  I  will  add  one  other  thought.  It  is 
not  alone  in  its  relations  to  commerce,  trade  and  wealth  that  1  see  the 


105 

importance  of,  this  river  improvement.  When  the  finger  of  the  Almighty 
outlined  this  great  valley,  it  pointed  to  the  seat  of  empire  [cheers],  and  that 
which  was  predestined  by  Nature  has  been,  and  is  being,  fulfilled  by  man. 
It  has  been  decided,  not  without  contention  and  bloodshed,  and  yet,  as  I 
believe,  with  final  unanimity,  that  all  the  vast  area  of  that  valley  shall  be 
inhabited  by  one  people,  speaking  one  tongue,  owing  glad  and  proud  alle- 
giance to  one  government  [applause],  and  bound  together  by  the  nearer  ties 
of  one  common  brotherhood.  And  to  all  its  people,  from  the  eastern  moun- 
tain tops  to  the  western,  from  Lake  Itaska  to  Port  Eads,  this  great  central 
river  is  a  common  pride  and  a  common  charge ;  and  that  it  shall  be  so 
regulated  as  that  its  utmost  advantages  shall  be  derived  for  all,  and  that  the 
burden  which  it  imposes  shall  be  shared  by  those  who  share  its  benefits,  is 
a  problem  worthy  of  the  solicitude  of  the  nation. 

Passing  down  the  river  not  long  ago,  I  floated  on  its  broad,  smooth 
channel  over  the  very  spot  where  the  batteries  of  Island  No.  10  bellowed 
forth  the  awful  notes  of  war.  Further  below,  at  the  very  spot  where  the 
Sultana  went  down,  her  decks  crowded  with  Union  prisoners,  their  faces 
turned  towards  liberty,  friends  and  home,  I  saw  a  green  island,  built  up 
by  the  river,  where  the  cypress  and  cottonwood  wave  over  the  grave  of 
those  ill-fated  heroes. 

Xot  long  since  a  party  of  gentlemen  of  my  acquaintance,  two  of  them 
distinguished  actors  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  one  of  them  in  the  army 
of  the  besiegers  and  the  other  in  the  army  of  the  besieged,  went  out 
together  to  look,  with  the  critical  eyes  of  army  engineers,  upon  the  lines  of 
defense  and  attack  in  that  memorable  contest.  They  came  back  after 
several  hours'  absence,  tired  and  dusty,  having  been  utterly  unable  to  find 
the  place  for  which  they  sought.  Thus  do  the  elements  themselves,  the 
river  with  its  flood,  the  sky  with  its  rains,  and  the  green  grass  with  its  sod, 
seek  to  obliterate  and  cover  the  scars  and  memories  of  war.  [Applause.] 
And  shall  not  we,  following  the  example  of  inanimate  nature,  say  in  our 
hearts :  ;'  The  war  is  over  with  all  its  bitter  memories  and  resentments  for- 
ever." [Applause.] 

I  say,  therefore,  that  it  is  a  good  time  for  the  people  of  the  great  North- 
west and  the  great  Southwest  to  join  their  hands  in  the  great  work  of  im- 
proving the  noble  river  which  is  their  common  inheritance  and  their  com- 
mon benefactor.  From  such  a  partnership,  in  an  enterprise  so  truly  benefi- 
cent and  national,  we  shall  have  good  reason  to  expect,  not  only  extended 
commerce,  great  material  prosperity,  and  increased  wealth,  but,  what  is 
more  and  better,  that  unity  of  hearts,  and  hopes,  and  interests,  in  which 
are  the  sure  guarantees  of  the  indissoluble  unity  of  the  States  and  the  na- 
tion. [Prolonged  applause.] 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  "1  move  that  the  Convention 
return  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  gentleman  for  his  eloquent 
address,  and  to  the  Commission  he  represents." 

The  motion  was  carried  by  a  rising  vote. 


106 

Mr.  Murphy,  of  Iowa.  "  If  we  can  resolve  ourselves  out 
of  the  day  of  resolves,  I  suggest  that  before  the  benediction 
is  pronounced  we  ascertain  who  are  members  of  this  Conven- 
tion. Hence  I  think  it  would  be  in  order  to  hear  from  the 
Committee  on  Credentials,  and  their  report.  I  make  the 
motion  that  we  hear  from  the  Committee  on  Credentials." 

The  President.  "  I  understand  from  the  Secretary,  that 
on  yesterday  the  Convention  decided  to  accept  the  roll  as  it 
was  called  yesterday  in  the  Convention,  as  containing  the 
names  of  the  members  of  the  Convention." 

A  delegate  from  Missouri.  "  The  gentleman  was  out 
yesterday  getting  a  drink,  when  the  Convention  disposed  of 
this  question." 

Mr.  Murphy.  "I  confess  the  soft  impeachment,  and  the 
gentleman  from  Missouri  was  with  me."  [Laughter.] 

A  delegate.  "  There  are  a  number  of  delegates  who  came 
in  since  yesterday  whose  names  should  be  recorded." 

The  President.  "I  am  informed  that  all  those  to  whom 
the  gentleman  alludes  have  been  enrolled,  and  have  received 
their  badges." 

Mr.  Kennedy,  of  New  Mexico.  "  I  move  that  we  adjourn 
to  half-past  three." 

The  motion  was  put  and  lost. 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  "  I  don't  wish  to  be  regarded 
as  obtrusive  at  all,  but  I  wish  to  employ  all  the  time  we  have 
got  as  advantageously  as  possible.  The  Cominittee  on  Reso- 
lutions are  now  out ;  we  can  do  nothing  permanently  until 
they  report ;  but,  sir,  there  are  a  number  of  distinguished  gen- 
tlemen here  from  various  States  and  places,  who  have  been 
invited — some  of  them  I  know — to  address  this  Convention  ; 
and  I  would  like  now  if  they  could  be  invited  to  occupy  the 
time  not  otherwise  employed." 

Mr.  Walker,  of  Minnesota.  "  I  second  the  motion.  We 
have  engineers  in  attendance  who  are  engaged  on  the  great 
work  going  on  between  St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul — eight  him- 


107 

dred  miles  of  river — in  charge  of  Capt.  McKenzie,  who  is 
here,  and  in  connection  with  the  remarks  of  the  River  Com- 
mission we  should  like  to  hear  from  Capt.  McKenzie  as  to 
what  progress  is  being  made  on  the  work  in  his  charge.  I 
move  he  be  invited  to  address  the  Convention." 

Mr.  President.  "The  Chair  would  state  that  next  in 
order  is  speeches  limited  to  ten  minutes,  unless  extended  by 
the  Convention.  In  the  absence  of  any  motion,  Capt.  Mc- 
Kenzie will  now  be  heard,  if  there  is  no  objection." 

Capt.  McKenzie.  "  I  consider  myself  a  little  out  of  place 
as  a  speaker.  I  consider  my  part  the  practical  part  of  carry- 
ing out  the  work.  It  would  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  speak 
with  regard  to  the  expectations  of  the  work  which  is  going 
on.  I  would  merely  say  in  a  few  words,  that  the  work  which 
has  been  going  on  for  the  past  three  years  between  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  and  St.  Paul,  has  now  passed  the  experimental 
stage.  The  work  that  has  been  done  has  proved  that  the 
plans  that  have  been  adopted  will,  in  time,  give  a  good  and 
permanent  channel,  and  that  all  that  is  now  required  is  the 
means  with  which  to  carry  on  this  work.  [Applause.]  VTe 
have,  at  many  places,  already  deepened  the  channel,  and,  in 
fact,  removed  what  were,  a  few  years  ago,  considered  the 
most  troublesome  obstructions  on  the  upper  river.  The 
general  plans  we  are  following  are  simply  to  confine  the  river 
in  one  uniform  channel,  and  when  this  is  accomplished  we 
shall  have  a  permanent  channel  of  six  feet  from  St.  Paul  to 
St.  Louis.  I  thank  you,  gentlemen,  for  having  expressed  a 
desire  to  have  me  address  you,  but  I  would  ask  that  with  these 
few  remarks  I  have  made,  I  be  excused,  inasmuch  as  I  would 
greatly  prefer,  as  heretofore,  to  carry  on  the  practical  work, 
than  to  appear  as  a  public  speaker." 

Mr.  Stanard,  of  Missouri.  "I  move  to  cut  off  speech- 
making;  I  believe  time  will  be  saved.  I  move  that  we  ad- 
journ till  half-past  two  o'clock,  for  a  session  this  afternoon." 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried,  and  a  recess  was  taken 
till  the  time  mentioned. 


108 


AFTER  RECESS,  October  27,  1881. 

The  Convention  re-assembled  at  half-past  two,  President 
Dunuell  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  "I  suggest  that,  inasmuch  as 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions  are  not  ready  to  report,  we 
have  some  few  speeches  from  gentlemen  that  I  am  satisfied 
will  interest  the  Convention.  I  would  like,  if  I  am  in  order, 
to  make  a  motion  to  that  effect." 

The  President.  "  The  Convention  will  naturally  at  this 
stage  proceed  to  the  order,  which  says  *  Speeches  limited  to 
ten  minutes,  unless  extended  by  the  Convention ;'  this  is  a 
part  of  the  order,  and  speeches  of  ten  minutes  are  now  in 
order." 

Mr.  Hogan.  "  I  suggest  that  the  Convention  call  on  Mr. 
Cannon,  of  Illinois." 

The  President.  "  Hon.  Joseph  G.  Cannon,  of  Illinois,  is 
present,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  have  him  address  the  Conven- 
tion." 

Mr.  Cannon  said  : 

GENTLEMEN:  I  am  here  as  a  looker-on  in  Venice,  and  did  not  come 
with  the  intention  of  addressing  or  making  suggestions  to  this  Convention. 
And  what  I  may  say  now  will  be  exceedingly  brief.  I  could  not  hope,  from 
a  general  standpoint,  to  give  so  happy  a  discussion  of  the  matter  before  the 
Convention  as  the  gentleman  from  Indiana,  Mr.  Taylor,  who  addressed  you 
before  lunch,  and  certainly  I  am  not  competent  to  give  a  close  and  scientific 
discourse  touching  the  matter  of  interest  before  you.  I  am  here  to  look  on 
and  gather  the  temper  of  this  Convention,  first,  from  personal  observation ; 
second,  I  am  here  because  my  interest,  and  the  interest  of  the  people  \\ith 
whom  I  live,  demand  that  some  action  shall  be  had  to  settle  the  transportation 
question.  [Applause.]  Iliveovei  in  Illinois,  on  the  extreme  eastern  border, 
one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  south  of  Chicago.  The  interests  of  my  people 
primarily,  from  a  commercial  centre,  are  with  Chicago  and  not  with 
>t.  Louis,  yet  after  all  that  is  said  and  done,  wherever  we  can  go  to  trade,  our 
interests  are  the  same  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  that  includes  the  whole 
of  the  valley.  Somebody  said  yesterday, — and  he  didn't  get  it  large 
enough, — that  there  were  twenty-four  hundred  millions  of  bushels  of  cereal- 
produced  in  this  country  per  annum.  The  census  report  shows,  that  of  the 
twenty-seven  million*,  my  own  State  of  Illinois  produced  one  -i\th:  our 
sister  State  of  Iowa  produced  one-eighth,  and  our  sister  state  of  Missouri 


109 

one-ninth.  I  need  not  specify  farther;  it  was  nearly  all  produced  in  the 
Mi«i<sippi  Valley.  I  am  reminded  in  connection  with  this. — from  my  resi- 
dence in  Illinois  and  the  West,  in  fact  having  resided  here  nearly  all  my  life, 
from  boyhood, — that  after  navigation  opens  in  the  spring,  for  us  who  are  a  lit- 
tle farther  north  and  east,  that  then  we  get  reasonable  freight  rates  brought 
about  by  competition,  by  lakes  and  canals.  When  the  ice  king  lays  his 
strong  hand  upon  those  northern  waters,  then  we  are  at  the  mercy  of  those 
who  transport  by  rail.  Thej-  are  human;  they  propose  to  make  all  they  can 
when  they  have  not  full  and  free  competition ;  perhaps  anybody  would  do 
that.  I  am  not  here  to  abuse  them.  I  suppose  it  is  natural  that  they  should. 
Xow,  then,  my  interest  and  your  interest  is  to  devise  a  means,  if  we  can.  by 
which  this  competition  shall  not  be  for  six  months  in  the  year,  but  per- 
petual. [Cheers.]  The  wrater  for  a  large  portion  of  the  year  above  you  on 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  is  open,  and  for  twelve  months  in  the  year. — and 
I  feel  that  is  about  all  the  months  there  are  in  the  year. — from  Cairo  south, 
the  Mississippi  never  closes,  if  I  am  correct  as  to  my  facts.  Now,  then,  if 
we  can  have  a  line  of  transportation  that  way.  we  will  soon  have  all  the 
necessary  railroads  to  reach  Cairo  or  to  reach  other  points,  Why,  here  is 
this  great  Wabash  system  that  is  reaching  out  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  country.  In  the  last  three  years,  the  Wabash  system  has  got 
a  line  from  my  town  in  Illinois,  Danville,  to  Cairo,  so  you  will  see  other 
roads  reaching,  not  only  to  Cairo,  but  to  St.  Louis,  and  in  that  way  I  think 
the  question  will  be  solved. 

Xow.  then,  there  has  been  something  said  in  resolutions  that  have  been 
read  to-day,  and  something  otherwise,  that  to  make  yourselves  practical 
you  ought  to  demand  that  appropriations  for  the  Mississippi  river,  and  per- 
haps its  principal  tributaries,  should  be  made  separate ;  that  is,  that  you 
should  have  strength  enough  in  the  American  Congress — representatives 
enough — to  make  appropriations  for  these  improvements,  without  reaching 
out  and  taking  in  other  rivers  or  harbors.  Xow,  then,  if  3-011  had  the  strength 
that  would  be  a  very  desirable  thing  to  do ;  in  fact,  if  I  had  my  way  about  it, 
and  it  were  practical,  I  would  have  each  appropriation,  everywhere  and  for 
everything,  stand  upon  its  own  merits.  If  you  have  not  strength,  then  you 
have  to  do  the  next  best  thing.  And  let  me  tell  you  about  the  river  and  har- 
bor bill  last  winter.  I  have  been  a  representative  for  my  people  up  here  in 
Illinois  for  eight  years,  and  am  now  upon  my  fifth  term.  Last  winter  the  river 
and  harbor  bill  that  was  reported  was  the  first  and  only  bill  I  ever  voted  for. 
The  manner  in  which  they  make  up  ordinary  bills  for  all  appropriations 
was  to  have  them  go  into  one  bill,  and  they  generally  made  them  strong 
enough  that  the  bill  could  command  two-thirds  of  the  votes  of  the  House, 
and  thereby  suspend  the  rules  and  pass  it.  This  bill  was  so  good  it  could 
not  command  the  necessary  two-thirds;  and  it  was  a  more  liberal  bill  to  the 
Mississippi  river  and  her  important  tributaries,  than  was  ever  before  re- 
ported. It  was  by  the  Commerce  Committee;  and  I  believe  you  have  a 
citizen  of  your  own  State,  Mr.  Clardy,  who  was  on  that  Committee  and 
worked  faithfully  for  your  interests  and  the  interests  of  your  country.  We 


110 

had  a  representative  from  Illinois,  Mr.  Henderson,  We  want  these  appro- 
priations, and  the  people  demand  them.  They  demand  a  settlement  of  this 
question,  and  if  they  can't  get  it  settled  one  way  they  will  another.  Many 
advocates  throughout  the  country  say,  "  Lay  the  positive  arm  of  positive  law 
on  railroad  corporations  and  regulate  them  in  that  way."  That  can  be 
done,  provided  it  is  practical;  puhlic  opinion  that  is  intelligent  and  deter- 
mined, and  born  of  necessity,  always  makes  the  laws  and  judicial  decisions. 
If  any  man  had  said  ten  years  ago  that  the  Granger  decision,  so  called, 
made  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  ever  would  have  been 
made,  the  whole  legal  profession  everywhere  would  have  said  "No.  that 
never  will  be."  Yet  an  intelligent  public  opinion  in  this  republic  of  ours 
brought  about  those  influences;  and  it  is  right  and  proper  they  should  have 
done  so.  Yet,  after  all,  it  is  possibly,  it  is  probably,  not  practical  to  regii- 
lat«-  this  whole  thing  by  positive  law.  We  had  better  bring  the  forces  of 
trade  and  competition  to  bear,  if  we  can,  and  never  resort  to  positive  law 
until  other  things  have  failed,  touching  the  regulation  of  these  great  ques- 
tions. Why,  your  own  great  engineer  of  world-wide  fame  is  helping  to  set- 
tle this  question;  and  he  is  working,  and  you  have  worked  with  him,  and 
the  country  has  worked  with  you  all  in  harmony  with  the  forces  of  Nature, 
and  of  trade,  in  settling  it.  I  recollect  very  well  that  in  1873  I  attended  a 
Convention  here ;  the  first  one  and  the  last  one  I  ever  attended,  until  this.  I 
recollect  a  number  of  gentlemen  went  from  here  to  Galvestou  and  down  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river  and  back  home ;  a  number  of  members  of  Congress 
needed  to  be  informed,  and  were  informed,  and  this  question  was  pressing 
upon  the  country.  The  first  result  was  the  Eads'  Jetty  bill,  and  you  have 
the  Jetties  in  successful  operation.  Now  that  Convention  has  accomplished 
great  things,  and  will  accomplish  still  greater;  so  I  say  it  is  policy  to  work  in 
harmony  with  the  forces  of  Nature  in  improving  the  great  water- way.  and  be 
in  harmony  with  the  forces  of  trade  underlying  the  law  of  demand  and 
supply.  And  I  think  you  are  starting  out  in  that  way.  and  I  bid  you  God- 
speed, because  this  fair  Mississippi  Valley  of  ours,  that  produces  this  wheat, 
and  this  corn,  and  this  hay,  and  this  cotton;  that  produces  almost  anything 
and  everything  that  can  be  produced  almost  anywhere  else  in  the  world, 
also  produces  fair  women  and  brave  and  intelligent  men.  Is  my  ten 
minutes  up? 

The  President.     "  Nearly." 

Mr.  Cannon.  "  Then  I  yield  the  balance  of  my  time  to 
the  next  good-looking  man  that  shall  address  you." 

Mr.  Childs,  of  Missouri.  "  We  have  here  a  delegate, 
Gen.  Rozier,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  in  1845, 
and  we  should  like  to  hear  from  him." 

The  President.     "  Gen.  Rozier  is  called  upon." 


Ill 


Gen.  Rozier  said  : 


MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THIS  CONVENTION:  I  feel  pro- 
foundly grateful  to  you  for  your  kindness  on  this  occasion.  L  suppose  that 
the  interest  felt  in  the  improvement  of  this  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
may  have  occasioned,  probably,  that  my  name  should  have  been  suggested 
to  you.  I  believe  to-day,  though  somewhat  of  a  young  man.  that  I  am  the 
only  delegate,  with  the  exception  of  one  man  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  who 
was  at  the  great  convention  that  took  place  in  Memphis  in  1845,  when  John 
C.  Calhoun  presided.  Gentlemen,  the  questions  there  were  what  you  have. 
The  great  principle  in  question  was  whether  the  General  Government  could 
appropriate  any  money  for  the  improvement  of  rivers  and  other  improve- 
ments. It  was  well  discussed.  They  had  reports  not  only  upon  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  rivers  West ;  but  the  railroad  questions  came  up,  the  hospital  ques- 
tions came  up,  improvements  of  the  great  river  of  the  West,  and  other  matters 
in  that  line,  and  the  improvements  of  levees,  and  the  reclamation  of  vast 
quantities  of  swamp  lands.  Gentlemen,  the  same  principle  came  there  that 
is  now  agitated  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  The  question  with  Mr.  Cal- 
houn and  his  Democratic  friends  at  the  time  was  whether  the  Constitution 
permitted  of  any  improvement  upon  the  country  by  Congress.  How  was 
that  decided?  There  wrere  there  such  men  as  Gov.  Jones  of  Tennessee,  John 
Bell  of  Tennessee,  C.  C.  Clay  of  Alabama,  men  of  genius  representing  Ken- 
tucky and  Ohio,  and  Western  States;  there  it  was  declared  that  in  a  national 
point  of  view,  that  the  great  national  rivers,  which,  by  the  act  of  1789.  by 
Congress  adopted — that  those  highways  were  only  subject  to  improvement 
and  appropriation  by  Congress.  We  heard  them  speak  of  the  Balize; 
Mr.  Calhoun,  in  that  Convention,  declared  then,  as  we  declare  to-day,  that 
the  Balize  had  to  be  opened  for  the  commerce  of  the  vast  Mississippi  with 
the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  it  had  to  be  done  at  what  cost  it  might  be. 
That  was  the  understanding ;  and  not  only  that :  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  con- 
vention took  the  ground  that  the  great  national  highways  came  under  the 
charge  of  the  Government  just  like  any  other  seaport  upon  the  coast,  for  the 
protection  of  the  General  Government ;  and  that  was  the  doctrine ;  and  yet 
to-day  this  question  is  advocated,  Are  we  to  go  beyond  the  great  national 
rivers?  Your  map  points  out  exactly  the  grand  Mississippi  that  flows  from 
the  north  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  Ohio,  and  the  Missouri;  they  are 
the  great  national  highways  we  can  only  protect,  and  not  run  into  every 
small  rivulet  of  the  country  for  an  appropriation.  Xo,  I  will  not  delay  this 
Convention,  and  I  cannot  delay  it;  as  I  suggested  here  to-day,  there  are  only 
two  members  living  of  that  Convention,  and  that  is  myself  and  the  Hon. 
James  E.  Yeatman,  of  St.  Louis. 

Gentlemen,  there  is  one  practical  thing,  and  I  will  not  delay  you. 
There  was  a  very  respectable  and  highly  intellectual  man  in  Missouri,  who 
ha-  been  connected  with  the  Marine  Department  from  the  time  Com- 
modore Peny  ruled  upon  the  Lakes,  and  I  recollect  well  his  remark- 
in  1873,  when  in  the  Senate  of  Missouri,  I  reported  there  on  the  commerce 
and  the  tonnage  and  losses  upon  Western  rivers.  He  wrote  this  in  answer : 


112 

"  The  great  Benefactor  has  intrusted  us  with  the  great  plan  of  improving 
Western  rivers  for  the  benefit  of  mankind."  We  not  only  contemplate  to- 
day the  vast  resources  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi;  here  we  are  with 
sixteen  millions  of  people,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  members  of 
Congress  in  the  Lower  House  and  thirty  Senators,  and  yet  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  has  been  unprotected,  and  those  improvements  which  are  neces- 
sary to  be  made  have  not  been  made.  In  the  last  twenty  years  we  have 
lost  three  million  dollars  by  the  destruction  of  steamers  on  Western  rivers 
annually,  which  would  amount  to  sixty  millions;  besides  that,  in  the  esti- 
mates for  the  twenty  years,  we  have  had  four  hundred  and  sixteen  individu- 
als lost  by  casualties  of  the  river.  There  are  only  three  modes  by  which 
you  can  improve  these  vast  Western  rivers;  and  how  is  that,  sir?  By  these 
gunboats, — that  is,  the  boats  for  the  purpose  of  extracting  snags  from  the 
river,  which  is  practical  in  all  its  operations.  I  recollect  here  but  a  few 
years  ago  that  fifty  miles  from  your  city  one  log  lay  above  an  island,  and  nine 
boats  were  wrecked  on  it  within  six  months,  and  yet  the  snag-boats  came 
there,  and  they  removed  this  thing  in  twro  hours.  That  is  not  all.  We  want 
the  channel  improved  and  deepened,  and  we  can  only  do  that  by  following 
the  natural  course  of  the  river,  and  trying  to  put,  likewise,  improvements 
upon  this  alluvial  soil,  and  hugging  the  bluff  shore  of  Missouri  from  here 
and  to  the  Balize, — that  is  the  shore  on  this  side  of  the  river.  Isn't  it  a  re- 
markable fact  after  you  pass  St.  Louis  and  go  down  to  Benton,  in  Scott 
county,  that  on  the  whole  western  side  of  the  Mississippi  there  is  not  a 
bluff  that  stands  there ;  it  is  alluvial  soil.  I  don't  want  to  go  into  this  mat- 
ter any  further  than  this,  to  say  that  I  have  always  felt  a  vital  interest  in 
the  improvements  of  the  West ;  and  this  great  and  magnificent  river  we 
have  to-day,  ought  to  have  the  attention  of  Congress,  and  appropriations 
ought  to  be  made  for  that  purpose,  and  the  time  has  come.  I  care  not 
whether  the  present  members  of  Congress  are  in  favor  of  it  or  not,  you  can- 
not stop  the  vast  commerce  and  agricultural  interests  of  the  country.  You 
might  afe  well  say  it  is  feasible  to  build  a  dam  and  stop  the  waters  that  wash 
your  city,  as  prevent  the  progress  of  this  country,  and  improvement  of  the 
great  Mississippi.  I  will  go  further  than  this.  The  city  of  St.  Louis  to-day 
ought  to  raise  a  monument  to  Capt.  Eads'  name.  You  ought  to  have  a 
monument  to  Fulton,  pointing  to  the  great  river  of  the  West,  in  the  applica- 
tion of  steam ;  it  has  done  so  much  for  the  West.  You  ought  to  have  a 
monument  to  Capt.  Eads,  pointing  to  the  Balize,  opening  commerce,  not 
only  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  but  to  the  world.  I  have  said  enough. 

Mr.  Hogan,  of  Missouri.  "  We  have  with  us  Hon.  H.  S. 
Shallenberger,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  I  would  like  to  have  him 
say  a  few  words  to  this  Convention.  I  would  like  to  have 
him  make  a  few  remarks." 

A  delegate  from  Illinois.  "  Some  of  us  want  to  go  home 
to-night ;  we  want  to  hear  the  resolutions  ;  we  will,  of  course, 


113 

• 

remain  here  as  long  as  we  possibly  can  to  hear  speeches,  and 
hope  they  will  be  made,  but  we  would  like  to  hear  the  reso- 
lutions and  act  upon  them,  or  at  least  have  them  before  the 
Convention,  so  that  we  may  go  home  satisfied  of  what  will  be 
its  results ;  therefore  I  suggest  that  we  have  the  resolutions. 
I  will  move  that  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions be  now  requested  to  make  his  report. 

The  motion  was  seconded,  put,  and  carried. 

D.  F.  Kenner,  of  New  Orleans,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions,  then  presented  the  following  report. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  The  Committee  on  Resolutions,  after 
careful  consideration  of  the  objects  of  the  Convention,  as  set 
forth  in  the  call  under  which  it  has  assembled,  and  of  various 
resolutions  which  have  been  submitted  to  the  Committee  as 
expressing  the  views,  not  only  of  individual  delegates,  but  of 
delegations  from  widely  distant  parts  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, touching  those  objects  and  the  best  mode  of  promoting 
them,  have  instructed  me  on  behalf  of  the  unanimous  Com- 
mittee to  report  to  the  Convention  the  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions herewith  submitted,  with  the  recommendation  that  the 
same  be  adopted  by  the  Convention. 

[Signed]  DUNCAN  F.  KENNER, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  representatives  of  the  commercial  interest  and  agri- 
cultural and  other  productive  industries  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  in  convention  assembled,  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  be- 
lieving that  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries, 
the  great  inland  water-ways,  prepared  by  the  Creator  for  the 
use  of  the  people,  are  a  most  important  and  valuable  part  of 
the  national  domain,  free  to  all,  beyond  the  reach  of  mo- 
nopoly, and  affording  to  the  whole  people  that  competition  in 
transportation  which  benefits  both  producer  and  consumer 
alike ;  and  further,  that  cheap  transportation  is  the  great  ne- 
cessity of  an  agricultural  people,  the  indispensable  condition 
of  the  easy  conveyance  to  distant  markets  of  their  staple  pro- 
ducts, bulky  in  proportion  to  value,  and  that  the  familiar 
economical  truth,  that  the  cheapest  transportation  of  such 
products  is  by  water,  is  especially  applicable  to  the  great 
water-ways  of  this  country,  provided  the  same  be  kept  free 


114 

from  snags,  sand-bars,  treacherous  banks  and  other  obstacles 
to  navigation,  do  therefore  resolve  and  declare : 

First.  That  it  is  the  manifest  and  imperative  duty  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  cause  to  be  made  such 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  its  navigable  tribu- 
taries, as  shall  permanently  secure  the  safe  and  easy  naviga- 
tion thereof,  thereby  cheapening  freights,  reducing  insur- 
ance and  other  burdens  and  expenses  ;  promoting  the  vast 
inland  commerce  of  the  nation  and  creating  new  avenues  of 
foreign  trade,  and  thus  not  only  inviting  increased  production 
and  population,  but  assuring  greater  prosperity  to  the  whole 
people.  Especially  is  this  duty  obvious,  and  our  demand 
justified,  in  view  of  the  donations  already  made  by  Congress 
in  land,  amounting  to  nearly  200,000,000  acres,  and  in  bonds 
issued  or  guaranteed,  nearly  $100,000,000  more,  in  aid  of 
artificial  highways,  the  property  of  private  individuals,  and 
necessarily  furnishing,  even  at  lowest  rates,  the  most  costly 
form  of  transportation  on  a  large  scale,  as  compared  with  ap- 
propriations not  yet  amounting  to  $25,000,000  in  all,  for  the 
improvement  of  15,000  miles  of  natural  water-ways,  whose 
freedom  from  tax  imposed  or  monopoly  is  protected  by  Con- 
stitutional guarantees,  while  the  cheap'  service  and  unre- 
stricted competition  they  afford  is  the  most  effectual  correc- 
tive of  exorbitant  charges  by  any  route  to  the  seaboard.  That 
the  appropriations  for  such  improvements  should  be  sepa- 
rately made,  with  due  provisions  for  assuring  the  people  of 
their  faithful  applications  to  the  same,  and  should  be  adequate 
to  the  continued  prosecution  of  the  work  once  begun  until  the 
same  is  finished,  so  as  to  avoid  the  wasteful  destruction  of 
work  partially  completed  by  reason  of  the  delay  or  stoppage 
thereof  for  want  of  sufficient  appropriations  ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recognizes  with  extreme 
satisfaction  and  emphatic  approval  in  the  passage  of  the  act 
of  Congress  of  June  28,  1879,  "For  the  appointment  of  a 
Mississippi RiverCommission,"  and  in  the  comprehensive  and 
scientific  surveys  and  important  recommendations  made  by 
the  diatinguished  engineers  appointed  on  that  Commission,  as 
set  forth  in  their  reports  of  February  17,  1880,  and  January 
8,  1881,  the  first  well-considered  and  effectual  step  toward 
the  complete  and  permanent  opening  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley to  the  markets  of  the  world  ;  but  would  also  strongly  ex- 
press its  regret  at  the  refusal  of  the  last  Congress,  after 
creating  said  Commission,  and,  notwithstanding  the  deliberate 


115 

and  emphatic  approval  of  their  plans  by  the  House  Committee 
on  Improvement  of  the  Mississippi,  to  appropriate  the  amount 
estimated  and  recommended  by  said  Commission  for  doing  the 
work  by  them  carefully  laid  out  and  proposed ;  and  be  it  fur- 
ther 

Resolved,  That  in  the  deliberate  and  earnest  judgment  of 
this  Convention,  delegated  to  represent  the  interests  in  that 
behalf  of  more  than  one-half  the  States  and  Territories  of  the 
Union,  inhabited  by  more  than  one-half  of  its  entire  popula- 
tion, from  whom  is  collected  above  70  per  cent,  of  the  internal 
revenue  of  the  nation,  whose  internal  commerce  is  already 
one-half  that  of  the  whole  United  States,  more  than  twelve 
times  greater  than  the  total  foreign  commerce  of  the  nation, 
and  larger  than  the  total  foreign  commerce  of  the  world — 
but  upon  whose  industry  is  this  year  levied, by  the  obstacle  to 
the  safe  and  easy  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its 
navigable  tributaries,  a  needless  direct  tax,  by  way  of  in- 
creased freights  and  insurance,  demurrage,  wrecks  and  re- 
pairs of  not  less  than  $10,000,000.  It  is  the  imperative  duty 
of  Congress  and  the  right  of  the  people,  for  whom  this  Con- 
vention is  authorized  to  speak,  that  the  legislation  thus  wisely 
begun,  be  made  effectual  and  permanent  by  enlarging  the 
powers  of  the  River  Commission  to  include  the  active  pros- 
ecution of  the  works  already  recommended  by  them,  and  by 
the  regular  and  separate  appropriations,  from  year  to  year,  of 
such  sums  as  said  Commission,  acting  under  the  reasonable 
supervision  of  Congress,  shall  report  as  necessary  to  that  end  ; 
so  that  this  great  and  indispensable  work,  national  in  every 
sense,  shall  no  longer  be  delayed  ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  the  scientific  and  comprehensive  system  of 
river  improvement,  by  a  competent  commission,  thus  inaugu- 
rated, should  be  applied  to  the  complete  and  permanent  im- 
provement and  maintenance  of  all  the  navigable  tributaries  of 
the  great  river  ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recognizes,  with  great  sat- 
isfaction, the  benefits  already  resulting  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  river  and  its  principal  tributaries  by  the  ex- 
tension of  the  light-house  system  thereto  ;  and  expresses  the 
earnest  hope  that  the  partial  lighting  of  those  rivers  may  be 
speedily  enlarged,  by  increasing  the  number  of  districts  and 
lights  to  such  an  extent  as  the  Light-house  Board,  in  consulta- 
tion with  the  River  Commission,  shall  find  necessary  to  render 
such  service  completely  efficient ;  and  be  it  further 


116 

Resolved,  That  the  President  of  this  Convention  be  and 
he  is  hereby  authorized  and  requested  to  appoint,  at  his  early 
convenience,  a  committee  of  twenty-one,  who  shall  be  charged 
with  the  duty  of  preparing,  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the 
Convention  adjourns,  a  memorial  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  on  behalf  of  the  delegates  composing  this  Convention, 
and  the  people  whom  they  represent,  in  support  of,  and  in 
accordance  with,  the  foregoing  resolutions,  embodying  such 
statistics  and  information  as  said  committee  may  deem  ex- 
pedient ;  that  they  cause  to  be  printed  a  sufficient  number  of 
copies  of  said  resolutions  and  memorial,  together  with  the 
proceedings  of  this  Convention,  for  wide  distribution,  and 
that  a  copy  thereof  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  each  member  of 
the  United  States  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  as 
soon  as  practicable  ;  and  that  said  committee  be,  and  they  are 
hereby  authorized  to  take  such  further  action  touching  the 
proper  presentation  of  said  resolutions  and  memorial  to  Con- 
gress, and  procuring  the  due  consideration  thereof  as  they  may 
deem  best. 

Mr.  Hardin,  of  Missouri.  "  I  move  that  the  report  be 
adopted." 

The  motion  was  seconded. 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  Before  that  is  adopted,  I  wish 
to  say,  I  offered  a  resolution  before  recess,  in  regard  to  the 
deepening  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  which  the  Com- 
mittee seems  not  to  have  reported  on.  I  want  to  offer  this 
again  before  the  Convention,  and  offer  it  as  an  amendment 
'before  this  Convention.  I  ask  to  read  it,  and  if  necessary, 
Illinois  wants  to  be  heard  upon  it. 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  the 
future  policy  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tribu- 
taries should  embrace  the  enlargement  and  deepening  of  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  and  the  improvement  of  the  Illi- 
nois river,  so  as  to  afford  deep-water  navigation  from  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  river. 

"  Now,  if  I  am  in  order,  I  want  to  present  a  few  reasons 
why  I  think  this  should  be  adopted  as  the  sense  of  this  Con- 
vention." 


117 

The  President.  "  The  gentleman  moves,  as  I  understand 
him,  the  resolution  which  he  has  read,  as  an  amendment  to 
the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions." 

Mr.  Roberts.     "  Yes,  as  an  amendment  to  the  report." 

Mr.  Doniphan.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,  that  there  is  a 
supplementary  report  yet  to  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  Convention." 

Mr.  Roberts.  "  There  is  a  motion  to  adopt  the  report  as 
it  has  been  read.  Whatever  may  come  afterwards  I  don't 
know,  but  I  suppose  it  is  in  order  now  to  offer  this  as  an 
amendment  to  the  report  that  has  already  been  read." 

The  President.     "  I  think  the  gentleman  is  in  order." 

Mr.  Doniphan.  "My  point  was,  I  would  like  to  have  the 
full  report  of  the  committee." 

The  President.  "That  is  another  question;  the  report 
was  read  as  a  whole,  and  the  motion  was  made  to  adopt  it, 
and  it  was  in  order  ;  then  a  gentleman  makes  an  amendment  to 
that  report ;  the  gentleman,  therefore,  is  in  order." 

Another  delegate.  "I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,  that  that 
subject  is  not  within  the  call  of  the  Convention  ;  to  make  a 
recommendation  for  this  canal  would  be  going  beyond  the 
navigable  streams  and  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  river. 
[Applause.]  The  point  is  that  this  seems  to  bring  in  a  recom- 
mendation that  would  extend  beyond  what  I  understand  to  be 
the  scope  of  this  Convention ;  that  the  whole  extent  is  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries." 

Mr.  Kenner,  of  Louisiana.  "If  the  gentleman  will  allow 
me  to  make  an  explanation  in  justice  to  the  Committee,  I 
would  be  obliged  to  him.  I  mislaid  an  additional  resolution 
which  the  Committee  had  authorized  me  to  report  to  the  Con- 
vention ;  I  could  not  put  my  hand  on  it.  If  you  will  allow 
me,  I  will  read  that  resolution." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.     "  I  will  yield  for  that  purpose." 

The  President.  "As  I  understand,  this  resolution  was  in- 
tended to  be  a  part  of  the  resolution." 


118 

Mr.  Kenner,  Chairman  of  Committee  on  Resolutions. 
44  Yes,  or  as  a  separate  report." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  following  supplemental  re- 
port of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  Your  Committee  on  Resolutions  have 
also  instructed  the  undersigned,  its  chairman,  at  the  request 
of  the  member  of  the  committee  from  Iowa,  to  submit  to  the 
Convention,  without  recommendation,  the  following  resolu- 
tion :  DUNCAN  F.  KENNER. 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  interest  of  cheap  transportation,  and 
to  afford  a  choice  of  water  routes  to  the  seaboard,  we  regard 
connections  between  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi river  and  the  great  lakes,  as  of  great  importance  ;  and 
that  Congress,  in  making  the  appropriations  to  improve  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  ought 
not  to  overlook  or  disregard  the  e  tablishment  of  free  water 
communication  between  the  valley  of  the  great  river  of  the 
West  and  tide-water  of  the  East . 

Assistant  Secretary,  Bell.  "The  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee directs  me  to  state  that  it  is  offered  by  the  member  of 
the*  committee  from  Iowa,  and  is  placed  before  the  Convention 
by  the  committee  without  recommendation." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  If  I  am  in  order,  I  would  like 
to  be  heard  upon  this  resolution." 

The  President.  "A  gentleman  has  raised  a  point  of  order. 
The  Chairman  is  not  familiar  with  the  phraseology  of  the  call, 
and  hence  could  not  now  rule  upon  the  point  of  order  that  has 
been  raised." 

A  delegate.  "  I  would  like  to  say  this  much  in  explana- 
tion of  my  motion.  I  think  it  is  clearly  not  within  the  scope 
of  the  Convention  to  admit  that  resolution.  I  simply  do  this 
to  expedite  the  business  of  the  Convention.  If  that  resolution 
is  allowed  to  come  in,  there  may  be  hundreds  of  others  just 
like  that.  I  understand  that  this  Convention  was  called  to- 
gether for  a  particular  purpose.  I  am  for  that  resolution,  but 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  callers  of  this  Convention  did  not  in- 


119 

tend  the  scope  to  be   so  great,  therefore  I  insist  upon   my 
point  of  order." 

A  delegate  from  Illinois.  "  The  gentleman  in  making  his 
point  of  order  claimed  that  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  was 
outside  the  call  of  this  Convention.  The  geographer  in  pre- 
paring the  map  for  this  Convention  left  off  a  city  which  we  of 
Illinois,  and  all  members  from  the  Northwest,  are  a  little  proud 
of, — a  city  called  Chicago.  [Laughter.]  It  is  a  small  place  ; 
it  does  very  little  business." 

A  voice.     "  Where  is  it?  " 

The  other  delegate.  "  I  can't  tell  you  ;  it  is  not  on  the 
map.  It  does  very  little  business  ;  but  that  city,  small  as  it 
is,  too  insignificant  to  be  represented  upon  that  map,  has  al- 
ready expended  three  million  dollars  in  making  a  canal  for  the 
passage  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  through  the  Illinois 
river  into  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  In  connection  with 
that,  and  in  carrying  out  that  measure  for  the  improvement  of 
the  Illinois  river,  the  State  of  Illinois  has  already  expended 
one  million  dollars  in  the  construction  of  a  lock  and  dam  at 
one  point,  and  another  lock  and  dam  at  another  point,  making 
one  hundred  miles  of  slack- water  navigation.  And  that  they 
have  received  no  aid  from  the  Government,  but,  in  place  of 
that,  money  has  been  expended  on  the  lower  end  of  the  Illi- 
nois river,  and  not  one  particle  of  good  has  been  accomplished 
by  it.  Now,  then,  we  wish  to  have  this  matter  brought  before 
the  National  Government.  In  the  river  convention  held  at 
Quincy  two  years  ago  a  resolution  was  adopted,  and  some 
appropriations  have  been  made  by  Congress,  to  establish  res- 
ervoirs in  an  unknown  region  of  Minnesota." 

A  delegate.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  Is  the  gentle- 
man speaking  upon  the  point  of  order,  or  discussing  the  merits 
of  the  proposition?  " 

The  delegate  from  Illinois.  "  I  am  speaking  to  the  point 
of  order;  I  propose  to  make  this  point,  that  the  Illinois  river 
is  a  navigable  tributary  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  it  is 
within  the  purview  of  this  call." 


120 

A  delegate.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,  that  the  gentle- 
man is  not  speaking  to  the  point  of  order,  but  discussing  the 
merits  of  a  proposition  not  before  the  Convention  as  yet." 

Mr.  Simrall,  of  Mississippi.  "  I  rise  simply  to  explain 
what  I  understood  to  be  the  sentiment  of  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions  on  that  subject,  and  my  own  as  a  member  of  that 
committee.  We  did  not  undertake  to  pass  judgment  upon 
the  merits  of  the  proposition.  We  rather  thought  that  the 
scope  of  the  resolution  was  outside,  probably,  of  the  object 
of  this  body  ;  but,  inasmuch  as  the  subject  referred  to  in  the 
resolution  is  one  of  a  vast  importance  to  the  commerce  of 
this  valley,  we  thought  it  best  to  remit  the  resolution  to  the 
judgment  and  decision  of  the  whole  Convention.  I  make  this 
suggestion  as  to  the  order  of  procedure  :  Some  of  us  are 
very  far  from  home,  and  at  considerable  personal  inconven- 
ience have  come  to  this  body.  The  body  of  that  report  met 
the  unanimous  vote  of  every  member  of  the  committee  from 
all  parts  of  this  valley.  Let  us  at  this  time  dispose  of  the 
body  of  the  report — the  resolutions  assented  to  and  recom- 
mended by  the  committee  ;  when  that  is  done  let  this  debata- 
ble proposition,  about  which  contrarity  of  opinion  may  arise, 
come  before  this  body  and  be  disposed  of  upon  its  own  merits. 
I  have  said  more  now  than  I  intended.  I  have  but  a  single 
word  more  to  add,  if  it  is  in  order ;  therefore,  I  would  move 
that  this  body  proceed  to  consider  that  part  of  the  report  of 
the  committee,  in  which  the  committee  reported  to  this  Con- 
vention certain  resolutions  for  its  adoption." 

The  President.  "  That  motion  is  now  pending,  and  the 
gentleman  from  Illinois  has  moved  to  amend  that  report,  and 
the  gentleman  upon  the  left  has  raised  the  point  of  order  that 
the  resolution  is  not  in  order,  and  the  Chair  sustains  the  point 
of  order."  [Loud  applause.] 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  I  was  speaking  on  the  point 
of  order.  I  suppose  it  would  be  fair  that  I  should  be  heard." 

The  President.  "  If  the  gentleman  was  speaking  on  the 
point  of  order  he  will  be  heard,  and  the  ruling  withheld." 


121 

Mr.  Koberts,  of  Illinois.  "  I  understand  this  call  embraces 
the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable 
tributaries.  I  believe  it  has  been  known  for  more  than  half  a 
century  that  the  Illinois  river  is  a  tributary  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  that  it  has  been  navigable,  and  is  a  much  better  stream  for 
navigation  to-day  than  any  stream  of  its  size  in  the  United 
States." 

A  delegate.  "  I  ask  whether  a  point  of  order  is  debata- 
ble." 

The  President.  "  Yes,  the  point  of  order  is  debatable. 
The  gentleman  is  now  speaking  by  permission  of  the  Chair." 

The  delegate.  "The  gentleman  can  state  his  point  of 
order,  but  not  discuss  other  questions." 

The  President.  "The  gentleman  is  right  in  that;  the 
gentleman  (Mr.  Roberts)  must  confine  himself  to  the  point 
of  order." 

Mr.  Roberts.  "  The  question  whether  the  Illinois  river  is 
a  navigable  stream  and  is  a  tributary,  is  a  question,  and  I  sup- 
pose we  have  a  right  to  be  heard  upon  that.  This  call  does 
not  designate  what  streams  are  tributary  to  the  Mississippi, — 
what  are  navigable.  If  this  call  had  outlined  and  given  us 
the  names  of  certain  streams  that  this  Convention  was  called 
to  take  into  consideration,  that  might  have  been  excluded,  but 
it  did  not  elect  to  do  that ;  it  says  all  of  the  navigable  tribu- 
taries. Now,  the  question  is,  whether  the  Illinois  river  is  a 
navigable  tributary ;  and  that  is  a  question  of  fact,  and  gen- 
tlemen have  a  right  to  have  that  passed  upon  ;  and  have  I  not 
the  right  to  discuss  the  question  now  from  that  standpoint,  as 
to  whether  it  is  a  navigable  tributary  of  the  Mississippi  river? 
If  it  is  a  navigable  tributary,  then  my  resolution  is  germain. 
Now,  I  have  offered  this  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  Illi- 
nois upon  this  floor  ;  Illinois  is  something  of  a  State  ;  Illinois 
has  something  of  a  representation  upon  the  floor  of  Congress ; 
she  has  a  voice  there  that  will  be  heard  when  these  reso- 
lutions,— to  which  I  can  give  my  hearty  support, — come  to  be 
considered  before  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  Does 


122 

this  Convention  want  to  stifle  the  voice  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois,— the  great  State  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  river? 
Do  you  want  to  say  to  the  representatives  that  represent  the 
people  of  Illinois  upon  the  floor  of  Congress,  that  you  wouldn't 
even  consider  a  resolution  that  is  of  vital  importance  to  Illi- 
nois and  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  river?  Now,  I  am  only 
asking  for  the  sense  of  the  Convention,  that  in  future  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  shall  take  into  consideration 
this  question.  It  is  well  known  that  the  State  of  Illinois, 
after  spending  one  million  dollars  in  making  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  canal,  and  improving  the  Illinois  river  last  year,  pro- 
vided for  the  cession  of  that  great  highway  to  the  Government 
of  the  United  States.  Now  this  question  of  fact — " 

A  delegate  from  Indiana.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,  that 
any  member  stating  a  point  of  order,  has  not  a  right  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  at  issue.  I  hope  the  Chair  will  so  rule, 
otherwise  there  will  be  no  end." 

The  President.  "  The  point  of  order  is  well  taken.  The 
member  from  Illinois  must  confine  himself  to  the  point  of 
order." 

A  delegate  from  Missouri.  "  If  the  Illinois  river  rs  naviga- 
ble, it  is  already  included  in  the  resolution,  and  it  is  not 
necessary  to  go  over  the  ground  again." 

A  delegate  from  Arkansas.  "I  would  like  to  ask  if  the 
canal  you  speak  of  is  a  tributary,  why  is  it  any  more  neces- 
sary to  mention  it  than  the  river  I  live  upon?" 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  I  will  reply  to  that,  if  I  am  in 
order." 

The  President.  "  Will  the  gentleman  allow  the  Chair  to 
state,  there  are  a  large  number  of  delegates  who  desire  to 

li  upon  the  body  of  the  report  as  first  read.  The  supple- 
mental resolution  will  give  to  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  an 
opportunity  then  to  present  his  resolution.  The  Chair  de- 
cided upon  the  point  of  order,  perhaps,  with  haste  ;  but  it 
was  inclined  to  do  so  that  this  course  now  indicated  by  the 


123 

Chair  might  be  pursued  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of 
all." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "I  will  yield,  with  the  under- 
standing that  I  may  have  the  floor  for  this  resolution  when 
the  report  of  the  committee  is  passed  upon." 

The  President.  "  The  gentleman  will  have  the  opportu- 
nity. He  shall  be  recognized  for  that  purpose." 

Mr.  Chase,  of  Nebraska,  arose  in  the  rear  of  the  hall  and 
secured  recognition  by  the  Chairman,  amid  constant  calls  for 
the  "  Question  !  question  !" 

He  said :  *  <  Final  action  upon  the  resolutions  is  an  im- 
portant matter — too  important  to  be  taken  without  further 
debate.  Upon  one  proposition — the  one  generally  received— 
that  the  Missouri  is  tributary  to  the  Mississippi,  they  sound 
all  right.  But,  sir,  when  and  how,  is  this  grand  and  reverend 
assemblage,  who  do  not  entertain  this  proposition — those  who 
claim  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Mississippi  is  a  tributary 
of  the  Missouri.  [Laughter.]  These  audible  smiles,  gentle- 
men, are  no  answers  to  this  proposition.  Let  us  see  whether 
there  is  not  sense  in  it.  The  two  rivers  vary  but  little  in 
length.  The  Mississippi,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  is  put 
down  as  3,160  miles  long.  The  Missouri,  before  it  reaches 
the  Mississippi,  is  3,100  miles  long,  while  the  Mississippi, 
when  joined  by  the  Missouri,  has  only  traveled  less  than 
half  that  distance.  Surely,  if  the  Mississippi  is  the  '  Father 
of  Waters,'  the  Missouri  is  the  mother.  [Laughter.]  And  then 
the  Missouri  gives  its  own  caste  to  the  Mississippi  after  their 
junction.  The  Missouri,  brought  into  existence  by  those  beau- 
tiful springs  and  most  beautiful  cascades  of  the  far-off  Rockies, 
which  hang  like  so  many  silver  ribbons  from  those  craggy 
peaks,  speeds  on  to  the  embrace  of  the  Mississippi,  and  greet- 
ing her  with  a  kiss,  imprints  upon  her  cheeks,  never  more  to 
be  eradicated,  her  own  dusky  hue,  the  hue  of  an  incompara- 
bly rich  soil — a  hue  which  a  thousand  Indian  summers  has 
never  faded.  That  complexion  the  Mississippi  carries  with 
her  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  for  several  miles  from  its 


124 

mouth,  ere  it  is  retouched  by  the  deep  blue  of  the  ocean  wave. 
I  have,  myself,  .many  times  witnessed  this  fact.  Even  the 
Ohio — noble  stream  that  it  is — when  it  joins  the  Mississippi 
mingles  with  this  Missouri  tint,  only  to  be  engulfed  by  it. 
Which  river,  then,  is  the  tributary?  Is  it  the  Missouri,  which 
joins  the  Mississippi  with  3,000  miles  of  water,  or  is  it  the 
Mississippi,  which  joins  the  Missouri  with  1,200  miles?" 

A  member.  "You  are  not  speaking  to  the  question.  I 
call  the  gentleman  to  order." 

Mr.  Chase.  "  State  your  point  of  order,  sir.  I  am  in 
order."  [Laughter.] 

The  same  member.  "  Mr.  President,  I  call  the  gentleman 
to  order.  He  is  not  speaking  to  the  point." 

The  President.  "  The  gentleman  from  Nebraska  is  in 
order." 

Mr.  Chase.  "  We,  of  the  Missouri  valley,  have  always 
treated  you  and  the  entire  delegation  from  Missouri  with  gen- 
erous consideration.  St.  Louis  has  no  warmer  friends  than 
she  can  find  in  the  Nebraska  delegation.  I  have  spoken  on 
several  occasions,  years  ago,  before  the  Merchants'  Ex- 
change, on  matters  of  mutual  interest  to  our  people,  and  your 
people,  and  I  appeal  to  my  long-time  friends,  Mr.  Hogan,  Mr. 
Stanard  and  other  St.  Louis  gentlemen,  to  say  whether 
Omaha  and  St.  Louis  have  not  always  been  friends.  Why, 
then,  does  Missouri  object  to  the  tenor  of  my  views?" 

A  member  from  Missouri.  ««  You  are  charging  this  on 
Missouri,  and  the  point  of  order  was  raised  by  a  member  from 
Indiana." 

Mr.  Chase.  "  It  might  probably  come  from  Indiana,  but 
I  was  surprised  that  it  should  come  from  Missouri.  [Ap- 
plause.] The  gentleman  from  Indiana  may  yet  find  out  that 
I  am  no  novice  at  this  convention  business.  I  have  been  in 
many  gatherings  similar  to  this.  While  scarcely  out  of  my 
minority  I  wa.s  a  delegate  from  Buffalo,  where  I  was  then 
reading  law,  to  the  famous  river  and  harbor  convention  at 
Chicago,  in  1847,  and  always  since  have  taken  a  deep  interest 


125 

in  works  of  internal  improvement,  which  I  believe,  when  sev- 
eral States  are  interested,  should  be  aided  by  the  National 
Government.  I  have  noticed  the  apparent  drift  of  this  Con- 
vention from  the  beginning — the  Mississippi  drift — but  I  know 
St.  Louis  and  Missouri  too  well  to  believe  they  could  be  other- 
wise than  generous  to  the  Missouri  river  country.  The  Ne- 
braska delegation  came  here  to  represent  that  country  so  far 
as  our  State  is  concerned.  We  have  a  large  amount  of  grain 
and  other  products  to  ship,  and  we  demand  cheap  transporta- 
tion for  them,  both  for  the  benefit  of  the  consumer,  as  well  as 
the  producer.  We  raised  in  that  State  this  season  100,000,- 
000  bushels  of  cereals,  young  as  we  are,  and  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  this  finds  a  market  outside  the  State.  While  we  do 
not  desire  to  antagonize  railroad  interests,  we  will  barge  our 
grain  to  you  down  the  Missouri,  if  you  will  carry  it  that  way  to 
market  at  a  lower  freight  tariff  than  any  other  route.  Our 
grain  interests,  too,  are  largely  supplemented  by  cattle  and 
hogs,  and  other  bulky  marketable  products,  which,  if  reduced 
to  the  barrel,  could  as  well  be  barged  as  railed.  What  we 
want,  and  what  we  intend  to  have,  at  all  hazards,  is  fair  play 
for  the  new  Northwest. 

"Improve  the  Missouri  and  give  her  waters  a  chance,  and 
she  will  soon  shovel  out  a  feasible  channel  for  all  your  com- 
merce on  the  Mississippi. 

"Mr.  President,  I  notice  my  time,  ten^minutes,  is  almost 
up  ;  I  beg  pardon  for  using  even  that  short  time  in  a  Conven- 
tion like  this,  of  so  many  hundred  men,  many  of  them  men  of 
practical  experience  in  river  navigation.  I  believe  in  the  as- 
sertion that  no  one  present  has  ever  before,  in  a  commercial 
convention  in  this  country,  looked  upon  so  many^ray  heads, — 
shall  I  say,  to  speak  the  truth, — bald  heads  [laughter] ,  grown 
bald  in  studying  out  a  way  to  readily  navigate  the  great  in- 
land seas  of  the  West?  But,  sir,  we  could  not  answer  for 
silence ;  how  should  we  go  home,  and  the  Missouri  valley 
remain  practically  unprovided  for.  Had  I  not  been  interrup- 
ted, I  would  have  had  time  to  tell  you  more  about  Nebraska, 


126 

as  well  as  something  about  her  chief  city,  Omaha,  a  city  now 
of  40,000  people,  and  from  whence  we  shipped  last  year  ]0,- 
000,000  bushels  of  grain,  160,000  beef  cattle,  and  transacted 
a  commercial  city  business  of  $50,000,000.  But  time  forbids. 
Come  and  see  us,  and  when  you  leave  our  productive  acres, 
you  will  all  be  Missouri  valley  men ,  I  assure  you . ' '  [Cheering.  ] 

The  President.  "The  Chair  is  compelled  to  state  that 
this  hall  can  be  had  but  thirty  minutes  longer  by  this  Con- 
vention to-day,  and  I  trust  the  gentlemen  will  not  unneces- 
sarily consume  the  time  of  the  Convention/' 

A  delegate.  "  The  subject-matter  of  the  amendment  of 
the  gentleman  from  Illinois  is  embraced  entirely  in  the  sup- 
plemental report." 

Cries  of"  Question!" 

The  President.  "The  question  before  the  Convention  is 
upon  the  adoption  of  the  report  of  the  Committe  on  Resolu- 
tions." 

A  delegate.  "  I  ask  for  the  reading  again  of  that  portion 
having  reference  to  the  enlargement  of  the  powers  of  the 
Mississippi  River  Commission,  so  far  as  it  refers  to  the  exten- 
sion of  those  powers  to  the  navigable  tributaries  of  the  Missis- 
sippi." 

The  portion  was  then  read. 

The  President.  "It  is  moved  and  seconded  that  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  be  adopted.  As 
many  as  favor  this  motion  will  say  *aye.'  ' 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  report  was  unani- 
mously adopted. 

The  President.  "  The  Secretary  will  now  read  the  sup- 
plemental report." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  supplemental  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions,  as  printed  on  page  118. 

A  delegate  from  Arkansas.  "I  offer  an  amendment  to 
that:  that  the  Arkansas  river,  from  Fort  Smith,  be  opened 
clear  to  Wichita,  Kansas." 

The  question  was  put  on  the  amendment,  and  it  was  lost. 


127 

Mr.  Hardin,  of  Missouri.  "  I  think  the  report  has  not 
been  adopted,  because  the  rules  require  a  call  by  States." 

The  President.  "  If  the  gentleman  is  correct,  the  States 
should  be  called.  The  present  Chairman  was  not  a  member 
of  the  Convention  yesterday,  and  was  not  aware  of  that  rule." 

Mr.  Kozier,  of  Missouri.  "  I  move  the  suspension  of  the 
rule,  so  that  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  be 
adopted." 

The  question  was  put  on  the  motion,  and  it  was  carried. 

The  question  was  then  put  on  the  adoption  of  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  it  was  adopted  unani- 
mously. 

The  President.  "  The  question  before  the  Convention  is 
the  supplementary  report,  which  has  been  read,  and  the  gen- 
tleman from  Illinois  (Mr.  Roberts)  is  in  order." 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  Illinois.  "  I  now  offer  this  resolution  of 
mine." 

The  President.  "  You  offer  it  as  an  amendment  or  a  sub- 
stitute?" 

Mr.  Roberts:  "  I  offer  this  as  an  amendment  to  the  reso- 
lution : 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that 
the  future  policy  of  the  Goverment  of  the  United  States  for 
the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable 
tributaries,  should  embrace  the  enlargement  and  deepening  of 
the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  and  the  improvement  of  the 
Illinois  river,  so  as  to  afford  deep-water  navigation  from  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  river." 

Mr.  Roberts.  "Now,  in  advocacy  of  this,  I  have  only 
one  word  to  say." 

A  delegate.  "  I  rise  to  the  same  point  of  order.  I  have 
no  objection  to  his  speaking  of  the  Illinois  river,  but  when  he 
speaks  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  I  rise  to  a  point  of 
order." 


128 

Mr.  Roberts.  "  If  the  gentlem.an  has  ever  traveled  over 
that  country  he  will  see  that  the  Illinois  river  runs  to  the  city 
of  Chicago  and  the  lakes.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  a  disposi- 
tion, in  common  parlance,  to  sit  down  on  this  resolution,  but 
Illinois  wants  to  be  heard — or  part  of  it  at  least.  Now,  the 
little  town  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Illinois  river  is  the 
city  of  Peoria,  the  second  city  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  It 
pays  more  revenue  into  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  to- 
day than  the  city  of  St.  Louis." 

Cries  of  "Whisky!  " 

Mr.  Roberts.  "  Yes,  I  want  to  see  whether  Illinois  has  a 
right  to  be  heard.  I  will  call  the  attention  of  the  Convention 
for  one  moment  to  the  receipts  of  grain  in  the  city  of  Peoria, 
saying  nothing  of  the  receipts  at  other  towns  bordering  on 
the  Illinois  river.  The  receipts  of  grain  for  the  year  1880, 
were  26,041,335  bushels.  There  was  shipped  off  20,666,225 
bushels.  She  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  in 
revenue  last  year,  $10,752,319.  She  manufactured  18,475,- 
565  gallons  of  whisky.  Now,  I  know  this  is  a  cold-water  Con- 
vention, but  I  don't  believe  that  this  cold-water  Convention 
would  object  to  getting  the  product  of  the  taxes  that  is  col- 
lected from  whisky  to  furnish  money  to  carry  out  the  views  of 
this  Convention.  Therefore,  I  shall  not  detain  this  Conven- 
tion. I  want  this  Convention  to  understand  that  Illinois  is  on 
the  map  ;  that  the  city  of  Chicago  is  on  the  map  ;  that  the 
Illinois  river,  from  the  Mississippi  to  Chicago,  demands  the 
attention  of  this  country,  as  well  as  other  tributaries  to  the 
great  river,  and  I  move  the  adoption  of  this  resolution." 

The  President.  "  As  many  as  favor  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  will  say  «  aye.'  ' 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  vote  was  taken  by  division. 

The  President.  "It  is  evident  there  is  a  very  large  majority 
airainst  the  adoption  of  the  amendment." 

Mr.  Stanard,  of  Missouri.     "  Mr.  Chairman,  and  gentle- 


129 

men  of  the  Convention  ;  I  desire  to  make  an  announcement 
while  the  Convention  is  full .  [Laughter,  and  a  voice  «  Peoria . '  ] 
You  remember  I  was  instrumental  in  your  getting  lunch  two 
hours  ago.  I  desire  to  make  this  announcement  on  behalf  of 
the  Local  Executive  Committee,  relative  to  the  plan  of  enter- 
tainment, which  will  be  given  in  honor  of  this  Convention  here 
in  this  theatre  this  evening.  There  has  been  some  confusion 
relative  to  the  tickets,  and  I  desire  to  announce  on  behalf  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  in  charge  of  this  and  other  matters 
of  detail  relative  to  your  entertainment,  that  those  members  of 
the  delegation  who  have  not  already  received  their  tickets,  or  if 
they  find  it  inconvenient  for  them  to  get  them,  that  they  will 
be  admitted  here  to-night  on  their  badges.  I  am  requested  to 
make,  also,  an  announcement  that  concerns  the  citizens  of  St. 
Louis,  more  than  the  Convention,  that  those  who  have  sub- 
scribed for  the  expenses  of  the  Convention  and  entertainment, 
— I  refer  to  the  merchants  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis, — that  their 
tickets  have  been  sent  by  messengers  to  their  stores  this  after- 
noon, and  should  they  not  receive  them,  that  they  will  be  ad- 
mitted at  the  door,  Mr.  George  Bain,  being  Chairman  of  the 
Entertainment  Committee,  and  having  the  list,  and  knowing 
who  are  entitled  to  admission.  I  desire  to  make  another  state- 
ment on  behalf  of  the  Local  Executive  Committee.  It  is  this, 
that  to-morrow  at  12  o'clock  it  is  the  design  of  the  merchants 
of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  that  there  shall  be  a  grand  excursion 
take  place  on  the  river,  on  barges  and  boats,  etc.,  on  which 
occasion  a  collation  will  be  served,  and  we  want  every  dele- 
gate to  this  Convention  to  remain  and  attend  that  excursion, 
and  we  will  make  it  as  agreeable  as  it  possibly  can  be." 

Mr.  Kennedy,  of  New  Mexico.  "  I  move  the  adoption  of 
the  resolution — the  supplemental  report." 

The  question  was  put. 

The  President.     "  The  «  ayes  '  appear  to  have  it." 

Mr.  Rowland,  of  Missouri.  "  I  wish  to  say  that  an  invi- 
tation is  extended  to  the  People's  Theatre.  The  delegates 
will  require  nothing  but  their  badges." 


130 

A  delegate.  "  I  move  you,  that  inasmuch  as  there  is  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  supplemental  report  was 
adopted,  that  that  matter  be  laid  on  the  table. " 

The  question  was  taken  by  division. 

The  President.  "  The  *  noes'  have  it,  and  the  resolution  is 
still  before  the  Convention." 

The  question  was  put  on  the  adoption  of  the  resolution, 
and  it  was  not  adopted,  the  vote  being,  ayes  84  ;  noes  131. 

Mr.  McEnery,  of  Louisiana.  "  I  give  notice  that  on  to- 
morrow I  will  move  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote  by  which 
this  resolution  was  defeated." 

Mr.  Kowland,  of  Missouri.  "  I  move  that  the  Conven- 
tion adjourn  till  ten  A.  M.,  to-morrow,  October  28,  1881." 

The  motion  was  carried,  and  the  Convention  adjourned. 


SECTION  3— THIRD  DAT. 


OCTOBER  28,  1881. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  the  President  at 
ten  A.  M. 

The  President  said.  "  By  a  mistake  yesterday,  the  Vice- 
Presidents  who  were  elected  were  not  invited  to  take  their 
places  upon  the  stage  ;  if  there  are  those  in  the  audience  now 
who  were  elected  as  Vice-Presidents,  they  will  please  come 
forward  and  take  their  places  with  those  that  are  now  on  the 
stage." 

A  delegate  from  Iowa.  "  There  was  a  mistake  in  our 
delegation.  Hon.  Mr.  Craig,  of  Dubuque,  was  elected  Vice- 
President. " 

Mr.  Chase,  of  Nebraska.  "Does  taking  seats  on  the 
platform  preclude  us  from  taking  part  in  the  debate?" 

The  President.  "It  does  not.  Gentlemen  of  the  Con- 
vention, the  following  telegram  has  been  received,  which  I 
will  now  read  : 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Oct.  27,   1881. 

"  To  MICHAEL  McENNis,  President: 

"I  sincerely  regret  that  I  cannot  visit  St.  Louis  at  this  time 
and  take  part  in  the  proceedings  of  your  Convention.  The 
measure  which  you  assemble  to  consider  is  one  of  great  national 
importance,  and  is  entitled  to  prompt  and  favorable  considera- 
tion by  Congress.  Official  engagements  imperatively  detain 
me  here,  and  deprive  me  of  the  privilege  of  enforcing  my 
views  by  public  address. 

" JAMES  G.  ELAINE." 

The  President.  "Just  before  the  adjournment  of  the 
Convention  yesterday,  a  motion  was  made  to  reconsider 
the  vote  of  the  Convention  rejecting  the  supplemental  reso- 

[131] 


132 

lution  reported  by  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  ;  that  was 
entered,  and  if  there  be  no  objection,  that  motion  will  now  be 
entertained." 

Mr.  McEnery,  of  Louisiana.  "Just  before  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  yesterday,  I  notified  the  Convention  that  on  to- 
day I  would  move  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote  by  which  this 
supplemental  resolution  was  lost ;  and  now,  sir,  I  move  a  re- 
consideration of  that  vote  ;  and  in  making  that  motion,  I 
desire  to  submit  to  the  Convention  one  or  two  reasons  that 
induced  me  to  make  this  motion." 

The  President.  "  Will  the  gentleman  allow  the  resolution 
first  to  be  read,  and  then  his  remarks  will  be  in  order." 

The  resolution  was  then  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  interest  of  cheap  transportation, 
and  to  afford  a  choice  of  water  routes  to  the  seaboard,  we 
regard  connections  between  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  river  and  the  great  lakes,  as  of  great  importance ; 
and  that  Congress,  in  making  the  appropriations  to  improve 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries, 
ought  not  to  overlook  or  disregard  the  establishment  of  free 
water  communication  between  the  valley  of  the  great  river 
of  the  West  and  tide- water  of  the  East. 

Mr.  McEnery.  "  Now,  Mr.  President,  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Convention  yesterday,  I  met  several  delegates, 
not  only  among  my  own  delegation,  but  from  other  States, 
who  informed  me  that  they  had  misapprehended  the  resolution 
which  had  been  read  to  the  Convention,  and  rejected  by  the  Con- 
vention ;  they  had  confounded  it  with  the  resolution  intro- 
duced by  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  (Mr.  Roberts),  that 
singled  the  Illinois  river  out  of  the  tributaries  to  the  Missis- 
sippi river  that  should  receive  the  favorable  consideration  of 
Congress  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  acting  under  that  con- 
viction, they  voted  against  this  resolution.  Now,  gentlemen 
of  the  Convention,  this  resolution  announces  the  abstract 
proposition  that  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  commerce  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  that  that  commerce  may  be  extended  to  the 


133 

Atlantic  seaboard  by  water  communication,  thus  connecting 
the  Mississippi  river  with  the  great  lakes  to  the  Northwest, 
and  consequently  with  the  commerce  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 
Now,  sir,  I  want  to  know  whether  this  Convention  desires  it 
to  go  forth  to  the  country  that  they  are  opposed  to  the  con- 
nection of  the  Mississippi  Valley  with  the  great  commerce 
which  lies  along  the  great  lakes  of  the  great  Northwest.  I 
don't  believe,  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  that  that  is  the 
sentiment  of  the  Convention,  and  hence  it  is  I  move  a  recon- 
sideration of  that  vote,  in  order  that  we  may  take  deliberate 
action  upon  it,  and  not  act  in  the  hasty  manner  we  did  yester- 
day, when  a  vote  was  registered  against  it,  just  on  the  eve  of 
the  adjournment  of  the  Convention." 

Mr.  Murphy,  of  Iowa.  "  I  second  the  motion  of  the 
gentleman  from  Louisiana.  It  seems  to  me,  Mr.  President, 
that  if  we  would  consider  carefully  and  prudently  not  only  the 
primary  objects  of  this  Convention,  but  the  scope  and  exact 
meaning  of  that  resolution,  we  would  have  no  hesitation  as 
to  our  action.  As  I  understand  it,  this  Convention  is  called 
primarily  in  the  interest  of  cheap  transportation ;  for  it  is 
cheap  transportation  or  not  cheap  transportation.  That  is  the 
question  in  which  we  are  all  interested.  We,  sir,  are  not,  in 
Iowa,  wedded  to  any  particular  route.  If  the  market  of  New 
Orleans,  by  the  establishment  of  barge  lines,  furnishes,  in  the 
competition  for  trade,  a  better  market  for  the  products  of 
Iowa  and  the  Northwest,  she  will  obtain  them  ;  but  if  it  does 
not,  she  will  not ;  and  it  is  due  to  this  Convention  to  state 
this,  speaking  for  myself  individually,  and  I  believe  I  reflect 
the  sentiment  of  Iowa,  that  if  the  question  before  this  Con- 
vention was  whether  the  Mississippi  river  should  be  improved, 
or  not,  we  would  favor  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  and  retire  all  other  projects.  [Cheers.]  That  is  the 
way  we  feel ;  but,  sir,  we  do  not  think  that  because  we  ask — 
mark  you,  only  an  expression  of  this  Convention  in  favor  of 
a  water  route  upon  the  Northern  Mississippi,  indicating  no 
particular  route,  but  saying  that  it  is  in  the  interest  of  the 


134 

commerce  of  the  Northwest — that  we  shall  have  a  choice  of 
routes  to  the  seaboard,  and  that  is  all  we  ask.  We  think  that 
we  are  not  antagonizing  an  interest — either  the  primary  in- 
terest, for  which  this  Convention  was  called,  or  any  other. 
Now,  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  these 
conventions,  Mr.  President,  that  a  convention  was  called  at 
Davenport,  in  May  last,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  a  water 
route,  connecting  the  Northern  Mississippi  with  the  Eastern 
seaboard,  by  way  of  the  great  lakes  ;  and  it  is  also  a  part  of 
the  history  of  that  convention,  that  the  people  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  south  of  the  Des  Moines  rapids,  came  to  that 
convention  and  earnestly  pressed  and  asked  for  an  expression 
in  favor  of  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river.  They 
were  treated  kindly ;  they  were  treated  generously,  and,  al- 
though that  convention  was  called  for  another  and  an  express 
purpose,  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the  improvement  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  was  entertained  and  passed  unanimously.  Now, 
while  I  do  not  desire  to  say  anything  to  this  Convention  in 
the  way  of  menace,  or  in  the  way  of  inducing,  or  using  any 
means  to  induce,  an  opinion  other  than  is  perfectly  legitimate 
and  proper,  permit  me  to  say  that  the  history  of  Congres- 
sional action  in  the  past  warrants  me  in  making  the  statement 
that  the  friends  of  the  Mississippi  river  had  better  poll  every 
vote  they  possibly  can,  to  the  end  they  may  secure  a  liberal 
appropriation  in  Congress.  [Applause.]  And  it  is  a  fact, 
not  to  be  denied  or  disguised,  that  New  York,  Michigan,  Ohio, 
Illinois,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin  and  Iowa  are  all  directly  inter- 
ested in  the  principle  asserted  by  the  resolution.  Those  States 
are  represented  in  Congress.  New  York  and  Chicago  are  to- 
day jealous  of  the  trade  that  they  believe  legitimately  be- 
longs to  them,  that  is  drifting  down  the  Mississippi  river  ;  and 
mark  you,  their  representatives  in  Congress  feel  that  jealousy, 
and  perhaps  it  is  well,  here  and  now,  for  us  to  recognize  they 
are  an  important  factor  in  the  improvement  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  [Cheers.]  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  detained  you 
longer  than  I  intended.  I  hope  that  this  motion  will  pre- 


135 

vail,  that  the  vote  will   be  reconsidered  and  the  resolution 
passed." 

Mr.  Stanard  of  Missouri.  "Mr.  President  and  gentlemen 
of  the  Convention,  I  do  not  desire  to  detain  you  more  than 
a  moment,  or  but  a  very  few  moments.  I  believe,  as  was 
stated  by  the  gentleman  from  Louisiana,  that  this  resolution, 
reported  from  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  without  recom- 
mendation, was  not  thoroughly  understood  by  this  Conven- 
tion. I  believe  that  I  understood  it ;  I  voted  for  the  resolution. 
I  did  not  then  know  how  the  Missouri  delegation  would  vote, 
and  I  do  not  now  know  how  they  will  vote  upon  the  question 
under  consideration.  But  as  for  me,  I  propose  to  vote  for  the 
reconsideration  of  this  resolution ;  and  if  it  is  reconsidered, 
then  I  propose  to  vote  for  it  on  its  final  passage  ;  and  I  would 
like  to  give  a  reason  or  two  why  I  do  this.  I  appreciate  the 
fact  most  highly,  that  has  been  suggested  by  my  distinguished 
friend  from  Iowa  (Mr.  Murphy),  that  if  adequate  appropria- 
tions are  secured  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  great  tributaries,  that  we  have  got  to  have  the  votes  of 
Western  members  in  Congress,  members  who  live  in  Michigan, 
members  who  live  in  Wisconsin,  members  who  live  in  Iowa 
and  Minnesota,  who  are  more  largely  interested  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  lakes,  by  virtue  of  their  location,  than  they  will 
be  in  the  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  river,  through  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  through  the  Jetties  to  the  Gulf,  and  from  thence 
to  the  markets  of  the  world.  Because  we  cannot  expect, — 
while  we  may  get  the  votes  of  many  distinguished  patriots  of 
the  East  for  the  improvement  of  these  great  water-ways,  there 
are  many  votes  that  we  cannotget.  My  mind  this  moment  recurs 
with  pleasure  to  the  conduct  of  the  Davenport  convention, 
which  was  referred  to  by  my  friend  from  Iowa  (Mr.  Murphy), 
a  convention  called  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  improve- 
ment of  water-way  communication  between  the  lakes  and  the 
Mississippi  river.  I  shall  not  forget  their  treatment  there, 
and  their  unanimous  votes  in  favor  of  a  strong  resolution  for 
the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  that  these  ap- 


136 

propriations  should  stand  for  this  purpose,  separate  and  dis- 
tinct, and  upon  their  own  merits,  without  any  other  appropria- 
tion tacked  upon  the  bill.  And  when  a  voice  rang  out  so 
clearly  the  other  morning,  from  a  back  seat,  stating  he  repre- 
sented Michigan,  I  remembered  how  they  voted  ;  how  the 
Representatives  in  Congress  and  Senators  of  that  State  were 
to  the  appropriation  for  the  improvement  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  by  the  Jetty  system,  in  the  Forty-third  Con- 
gress. [Cheers].  I  doubt  whether  that  would  ever  have  been 
passed — and  I  was  there  and  know  something  of  what  I  speak 
— had  it  not  been  for  the  co-operation  of  Senator  Conger, 
Representatives  Burroughs  and  Williams  of  Michigan,  and  of 
Williams  of  Wisconsin,  and  also  of  the  earnest  co-operation 
of  now  United  States  Senator,  Sawyer,  from  Wisconsin  ;  and 
it  seems  to  me  we  cannot  afford  to  do  anything  that  would 
antagonize  any  of  the  people  from  the  Northwest.  Now  what 
does  this  resolution  ask  ?  It  does  not  ask  that  the  Hennepin 
canal  be  constructed  ;  it  does  not  ask  that  the  Michigan  canal 
to  the  Illinois  river  shall  be  constructed,  or  that  adequate  im- 
provements shall  be  made  there,  but  it  simply  asks  the  people 
here  in  this  central  city,  congregated  in  this  Mississippi  Valley, 
to  recognize  the  fact  that  it  will  be  for  the  interest  of  the  people 
—for  many  of  the  people  of  this  great  Mississippi  Valley — that 
there  shall  be  communication  between  the  Mississippi  Valley 
and  the  lakes,  and  thence  to  tide-water.  It  seems  to  me  there 
is  nothing  unreasonable  in  this.  There  may  be  said  to  be 
jealousy  between  the  cities  of  St.  Louis  and  Chicago.  There 
is,  but  the  rivalry  has  been  a  healthy  one,  and  it  has  helped 
us,  and  I  hope  it  has  helped  them  also.  I  have  none  of  that 
parsimonious  feeling,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned  ;  and  if 'I  had, 
and  if  you  had,  what  difference  would  it  make  ?  The  man  who 
ascends  the  mountain,  and  struggles  with  all  his  might  and 
attains  the  summit,  lias  ;i  right  to  view  the  beautiful  scenery 
around  about  him,  and  expand  his  lungs,  and  take  in  the  air, 
while  the  laggard  who  undertook  to  go  with  him  rests  beneath 
the  shadow  of  some  friendly  rock.  And  the  city  that  uses  its 


137 

greatest  exertion,  puts  forth  its  best  energy,  and  is  worthiest 
of  the  emoluments  coming  from  energy  and  patriotism,  and 
fidelity  to  the  public  interests,  has  a  right  to  the  enjoyment  of 
those  facilities  which  come  to  it.  I  hope  that  the  vote  will  be 
reconsidered." 

Mr.  Hitchcock,  of  Missouri.  "  I  do  not  think  it  necessary 
to  add  in  the  way  of  persuasion  anything  to  what  has  been  said 
from  the  extremes  of  this  continent,  on  the  part  of  the  North, 
and  by  my  colleague,  the  chairman  of  the  delegation  from  St. 
Louis.  I  desire  the  privilege  of  saying  for  myself, — and  I 
know  that  I  reflect  also  the  sentiments  of  gentlemen  who  are 
representative  men  of  the  commercial  interests  of  St.  Louis, 
as  the  last  speaker  is, — that  I  hope  this  resolution  will  be  re- 
considered, and  that  it  will  be  passed.  I  desire  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  Convention  in  addition  to  the  reasons  given  by 
the  last  speaker,  to  the  simple  proposition  that  this  resolution 
avoids  that  which  we  all  felt  might  be  a  source  of  danger  or 
objection — undue  prominence  to  any  particular  plan  or  inter- 
est, and  simply  sets  forth  a  general  universal  expression  of  a 
spirit  which  will  be  in  strict  accord  with  the  spirit  and  action 
of  this  Convention  to-day." 

Mr.  Benton,  of  Minnesota.  "I  am  convinced  that  the 
Convention  made  a  mistake  yesterday  afternoon.  The  record 
of  the  Convention  will  read  as  now, — <  Resolved,  that  in  the 
judgment  of  this  Convention,  Congress  should  not  consider 
the  question  of  water-way  between  the  Mississippi  river  and 
the  great  lakes  ;  it  ought  to  overlook  and  disregard  these 
questions.'  Now,  Mr.  President,  I  don't  believe  that  this  is 
the  record  this  Convention  wants  to  make  here.  I  don't  be- 
lieve that  this  Convention  wants  to  put  the  West  in  hostility 
and  antagonism  to  the  East.  If  it  had  been  simply  the  ques- 
tion of  adoption  of  one  particular  route — the  Hennepin  canal, 
or  any  other  scheme,  I  would  not  have  been  content ;  if  it  had 
been  simply  a  question  of  rivalry  between  these  two  great 
cities,  in  view  of  the  magnificent  reception  we  have  had  here, 
I  would  have  voted  for  St.  Louis  every  time.  But,  Mr.  Pres- 


138 

ident,  this  is  not  a  special  scheme  ;  it  does  not  commit  the 
Convention  to  any  one  scheme,  or  to  any  one  project ;  it  simply 
asks  that  all  these  questions  have  a  fair  consideration.  If  there 
be  objections,  as  I  am  told  there  are,  to  the  Hennepin  canal, 
er  to  any  other  improvement  offered  for  consideration,  they 
should  be  fairly  considered.  But  the  record  of  this  Conven- 
tion, as  it  stands  now,  is  one  of  hostility ;  and  it  is  not  wise, 
when  you  go  to  present  the  action  of  this  Convention,  to  have 
to  say  that  the  deliberate  resolution  of  the  Convention  was 
that  we  want  to  put  ourselves  in  hostile  relations  towards  the 
very  men  we  need  to  help  us.  It  is  not  only  inexpedient,  but 
it  is  not  right ;  we  must  not  permit  sectional  jealousies  ;  we 
have  had  enough  of  that ;  the  time  is  past.  Let  us  hope  the 
West  will  never  be  put  in  hostile  relations  to  the  East.  Many 
of  us  remember  the  East  with  pride  ;  it  is  the  home  of  our 
boyhood ;  we  love  it  still ;  we  respect  the  men,  we  love  the 
citizens  of  the  East,  and  we  hope  we  shall  never  be  put  in 
hostile  relations  to  them.  I  hope  the  motion  will  prevail." 

Mr.  A.  W.  Slayback,  of  Missouri.  "Mr.  President,  as  a 
member  ot  the  St.  Louis  delegation  not  yet  heard  from,  and 
whose  own  chairman  don't  know  where  he  stands,  I  wish  to 
say  that  I  am  in  favor  of  the  reconsideration  of  this  resolu- 
tion, and  for  its  adoption  when  it  is  put  to  the  vote.  I  would  like 
to  inquire,  Mr.  President,  what  this  Convention  is  afraid  of. 
They  seem  to  be  timid  about  asking  for  what  they  want.  Are 
we  afraid  because  other  bills  have  been  loaded  down  with 
appropriations  for  Goose  creek  or  some  other  little  unknown 
stream,  that  it  will  always  be  the  case?  Is  there  nothing  to 
be  expected  of  Congressmen?  Shall  we  assume  that  they  will 
not  learn  to  progress  and  advance ;  will  they  never  learn 
what  the  people  expect  of  them?  They  ought  to  know  by 
this  time  that  the  Mississippi  river  is  an  arm  of  the  sea,  and 
has  with  great  propriety  been  called  an  inland  sea,  and 
not  only  through  the  Jetties  at  the  mouth,  but  through 
the  fountain  and  source  there  shall  be  an  outlet  to  Liverpool, 
and  other  markets  of  the  world.  We  are  not  here  to  discuss 


139 

the  local  advantages  of  the  recommendations  of  this  Conven- 
tion. I  have  gone  to  Minnesota  every  summer  for  several  years, 
and  I  find  up  at  that  end  of  the  river  there  are  interests 
growing  every  year,  just  as  vast  as  those  at  the  southern  end, 
— vaster  if  possible  in  the  future,  because  in  that  northwest 
region  there  is  a  class  of  men,  vigorous,  brave  ;  men  of  energy, 
pushing  ahead,  making  fortunes,  and  opening  up  a  country  so 
vast  and  so  rich  that  it  almost  makes  the  South  ashamed 
to  see  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  the  golden 
Northwest  in  the  last  decade,  as  compared  with  our  own 
progress,  considering  the  advantages  of  climate  and  soil. 
Now,  those  people  are  interested  in  this  question.  I 
would  have  you  open  a  way  from  the  sources  of  the  river, 
through  the  lakes  by  the  way  of  Chicago,  if  you  please.  I 
regard  Chicago  as  a  whole-souled  young  village  that  ought  to 
have  more  commerce  than  it  has  had  in  the  past.  I  regard  the 
northern  lakes  as  but  feeders  to  Mississippi  river  commerce  ; 
we  want  to  have  through  that  avenue  to  the  ocean  a  greater 
volume  of  trade  than  we  have  had.  This  is  not  whether  it 
would  benefit  one  city  or  another.  The  cities  are  not  the  people 
to  be  heard  from.  The  people  of  this  magnificent  valley — the 
agriculturists,  the  thinkers,  the  toilers,  the  farmers,  founders, 
manufacturers,  the  men  who  are  developing  the  resources  of 
the  field  and  forest — they  are  the  men  that  want  to  speak 
through  this  Convention,  because  city  men  can  speak  almost 
any  time  through  the  town  meeting  or  the  newspaper. 

But  to  speak  through  a  Convention,  it  is  expected  that 
voices  shall  be  heard  from  the  whole  of  the  interests  repre- 
sented in  the  Convention  ;  and  I  would  not  wish  to  sit  in  this 
Convention,  if  I  thought  we  simply  represented  St.  Louis  or 
the  southern  portion  of  the  Mississippi  river.  We  are 
representatives  here  of  a  broader  thought,  of  a  wider 
idea,  of  a  greater  question :  that  is,  shall  we,  inhabitants 
of  this  Mississippi  Valley,  act  in  the  future  as  we  have 
in  the  past,  letting  the  eastern  portion  of  this  country  out- 
strip us  in  wealth,  and  having  their  way  about  appropria- 


140 

tions  for  harbors  and  other  improvements  ?  Is  it  not  about 
time  that  we  ought  to  have  our  way?  If  we  are  to  have  it,  we 
must  bring  all  the  aid,  all  the  help  that  is  interested  alone: 
with  us,  and  obtain  the  necessary  appropriations.  Thankful 
for  the  patience  with  which  I  have  been  heard,  I  wish  to  call 
upon  every  gentleman  of  the  delegation  to  which  I  belong,  to 
widen  himself  out  and  come  up  to  the  emergency,  by  seeking 
upon  this  occasion  to  forget  St.  Louis  for  a  minute,  and 
remember  the  Mississippi  Valley." 

Mr.  Parsons,  of  Michigan.  "  I  want  to  say  one  word  in 
connection  with  this  matter.  I  represent  the  great  State  of 
Michigan.  We  owe  no  debt ;  we  are  rich  in  all  that  makes 
wealth  of  empire,  and  yet  we  know  no  State  lines,  no  local 
lines.  Whatever  promotes  the  glory  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley promotes  the  grandeur  of  Michigan.  I  know — and  the 
allusion  by  Gov.  Stanard  struck  my  notice — he  said  Michi- 
gan acted  intelligently  on  the  subject.  In  a  conversation  with 
Mr.  Conger  a  few  days  ago,  he  told  me  that  for  forty  days 
and  forty  nights  he  sat  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Eads  before  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  vote  in  favor  of  an  appropriation  for  the 
improvement  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Let  me  say 
simply,  I  have  changed  my  sentiment  in  connection  with 
Michigan's  relation  to  this  great  subject.  I  said  yesterday 
we  had  no  immediate  interest  in  the  improvement  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  We  have  an  interest.  The  whole  western  part 
of  our  State  is  interested.  Twenty  years  ago  the  trade  be- 
tween Michigan  and  New  Orleans  was  immense ;  it  is  nothing 
to-day.  I  voted  against  the  resolution  before  us  yesterday, 
and  yet  I  was  thankful  it  was  projected  upon  this  Convention. 
But  I  want  nothing  to  stand  between  the  improvement ;  I 
desire  that  this  should  not  stand  in  the  way  of  the  resolution 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river ;  that  was  first 
and  foremost ;  but  this  is  appropriate,  and  it  should  be  recon- 
sidered and  passed  unanimously.  It  will  interest  the  entire 
delegation  of  Michigan,  who  are  a  unit,  1  think,  in  favor  of 
the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river." 


141 

Mr.  Thomas  B.  Taylor,  of  Alabama.  "Alabama  has  not 
been  heard.  I  come  from  Alabama,  Montgomery  county.  I 
solicited  an  opportunity  to  come  here  as  a  member  from  the 
mayor  of  the  city,  under  your  invitation.  I  come  here  with 
the  deep  interest  I  have  always  had  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
I  come  not  representing  Alabama,  but  I  corneas  an  American 
citizen,  representing  the  United  States,  and  all  concerned. 
When  I  traveled  through  Tennessee,  I  rejoiced  to  see  it 
flourishing.  I  rejoice  at  everything  I  see  progressing  in  St. 
Louis.  I  correspond  with  Mr.  Eads.  I  am  delighted  to  hear 
his  name  mentioned.  I  have  been  corresponding  with  Mr. 
Eads  to  bring  about  the  state  of  improvement  of  the  river 
which  I  have  been  considering  for  fifty  years.  I  voted  yes- 
terday in  favor  of  this  proposition.  I  don't  represent  Ala- 
bama alone ;  I  came  here  to  consider  the  welfare  of  my 
country.  I  don't  represent  Alabama  alone  ;  I  represent  the 
interests  of  every  man  I  see  here.  I  believe  there  is  a  way 
by  which  the  natural  forces  of  the  river  can  be  utilized  so  as 
to  manufacture  all  the  cotton  manufactured  in  the  North,  to 
grind  all  the  wheat  ground  in  the  North,  and  to  saw  all  the 
lumber  necessary.  I  recognize  the  right  every  man  has  to 
his  individual  opinion.  I  think  every  man  should  act  for  him- 
self, and  not  be  intimidated  by  threats  that  if  he  don't  go  for 
such  and  such  a  section,  they  will  not  go  for  his  section.  The 
impulses  which  actuate  me  are  the  grandeur  and  welfare  of 
my  country.  I  recognize  no  other  power  ;  I  am  for  the  peo- 
ple at  large.  I  said  I  represented  all  concerned.  I  scratch 
"  all  concerned  "  out ;  I  wish  to  be  here  as  a  delegate  repre- 
senting the  whole  interests  of  this  country.  I  have  been  in 
favor  of  that  resolution  which  was  offered  yesterday,  and  I 
shall  vote  for  it  now  without  fear  of  intimidation ;  and  when 
threats  are  made  of  what  one  section  will  do,  I  hope  such 
considerations  will  never  be  entertained  by  this  Convention." 

Mr.  Underwood,  of  Kentucky.  "  I  want  to  express  my 
exceeding  gratification  at  the  broad,  liberal  and  statesman- 
like views  that  have  come  from  these  gentlemen  all  over  this 


142 

floor  this  morning  upon  this  question,  and  above  all  am  I  grat- 
ified with  the  sentiments  that  flowed  from  the  hearts  and  judg- 
ments of  these  men  from  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  from  Ala- 
bama,  and  from  this  whole  valley.      Their  fraternity  is  so 
manifest,  the  purpose  to  do  equal  justice  to  all  parts  of  this 
valley,  and  leave  no  part  of  it  untouched,  and  to  give  every 
part  of  it  a  fair  show,  is  a  circumstance  that  I  have  great 
cause  to  congratulate  myself  and  this  Convention  upon.     It 
shows  the  purpose  of  this  Convention  ;  it  shows  the  unanimity 
of  purpose,  the  unanimity  of  feeling ;  it  shows  that  we  are 
beginning,  throughout  this  valley,  to  comprehend  the  broad 
position  we  occupy  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.     Allow 
me,  gentlemen,   for  one  moment — although  it  is  a  subject, 
doubtless,  which  has  been  contemplated  by  every  man  here — 
to  invite  you  to  a  consideration  of  the  position  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  in  its  relation  to  the  balance  of  the  United  States. 
The  proper  boundaries  of  the  Mississippi  Basin  are  the  lakes 
on  the  north,  the  gulf  on  the  south,  the  Alleghanies  and  the 
Rocky  mountains   on  the  east  and  west ;  that  is  the  natural 
topography  and  geography  of  the  country.     The  condition  of 
this  valley,  and  the  identity  and  unity  peculiar  to  itself,  are 
also  related  to  other  parts  of  this  country.     This  great  basin 
occupies  a  position,  in  reference  to  our  whole  country,  as  the 
body  occupies  to  the  limb  ;  and  so  long  as  heart  and  lungs  and 
vitality  exists  here  in  this  great  body,  so  long  as  we  continue 
to  be  the  great  feeder,  not  only  of  our  own  country,  but  of 
the  world,  shall  we  continue  to  command  the  power  to  influ- 
ence, and  become  the  great  seat  of  the  empire  of  this  region 
of  the  world.     Now,  to  come  back  to  the  point  in  question, 
there   is   no  reason  why   the  counterpart  of  the  Mississippi 
system — that  of  the  lakes — should  not  be  considered  ;  why  is  it 
not  part  and  parcel  of  the  great  nation  whose  interests  we  are 
considering  to-day  ?     Aside  from  the  question  that  it  is  im- 
portant to  have  the  full  vote  and  strength  of  the  Illinois  dele- 
gation, both  upon  this  floor  and  in  Congress  ;  aside  from  that 
— for  that  is  a  question  of  expediency — there  is  every  reason 


143 

growing  out  of  the  material  wants  of  our  valley,  and  the 
whole  country,  why  we  should  contemplate  and  consider  the 
interest  of  a  communication  between  the  system  of  waters  in 
what  we  call  our  Mississippi  Valley,  with  our  lake  system. 
Aside  from  the  consideration  of  the  vastness  of  the  commerce 
of  the  great  lakes,  as  well  as  that  going  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  it  is  important  to  remember  that  there  are 
national  considerations.  These  considerations  strike  my  mind 
with  a  great  deal  of  force,  why  we  should  connect  our  great  sys- 
tem of  rivers  with  our  lakes,  and  I  want  to  present  them  in  a  few 
words.  It  is  not  at  all  impossible — I  hope  and  pray  it  may  never 
occur — that  we  should  have  another  war  with  Great  Britain — 
God  forbid  ;  God  grant  that  it  may  never  occur.  But  I  in- 
vite your  consideration,  gentlemen,  to  the  fact  of  such  a  calam- 
ity both  to  us  and  to  Great  Britain  alike.  Great  Britain  is 
the  owner  of  the  other  shore  of  the  lake  system  :  it  com- 
mands the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  with  her  vast  marine 
power  she  could  place  a  single  man-of-war  at  the  mouth  of 
the  lakes,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  prevent 
any  ingress  or  egress  on  the  part  of  our  vessels  ;  she  could 
send  another  man-of-war  to  sweep  the  lakes,  and  drive  all  our 
marine  from  those  waters.  It  is  very  possible,  and  it  is  plain 
to  be  seen,  how  vulnerable  our  whole  lake-shore  system  would 
be  under  those  circumstances.  Though  you  might  fortify 
Chicago  and  Milwaukee  and  Detroit  with  our  guns  stationary, 
it  wouldn't  be  at  all  difficult,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  to 
send  a  single  man-of-war,  and  being  sustained  from  their  base 
of  supplies  in  their  own  country,  to  burn  and  devastate  our 
entire  lake  shore.  I  am  not  general  enough  ;  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  pronounce  upon  the  necessities  of  the  thing  as  to 
military  system,  but  it  does  strike  me  as  common  sense  that 
the  best  possible  plan  of  relief  to  operate  from  the  lakes  is 
through  some  canal,  to  send  resources  of  this  great  valley,  in 
the  shape  of  gunboats  and  iron-clads  and  men-of-war,  to  the 
relief  of  our  lake  shore.  Aside  from  all  that  again,  may  it 
not  be  possible  that  the  idea  of  a  reservoir  system,  much 


144 

thought  of  in  Minnesota,  is  very  desirable  ;  it  is  very  much 
thought  of  by  some  high  in  the  Engineer  Corps,  and  though 
we  do  not  know  whether  it  may  ever  be  demonstrated,  it  may 
IDC  possible  in  the  absence  of  sufficient  water ;  if  it  becomes 
necessary,  there  may  be  sufficient  elevation  in  these  broad  lake 
reservoirs  to  furnish  water  as  feeders  to  this  great  river.  It 
is  a  question  worthy  of  consideration  and  examination.  I 
thank  you  very  kindly  for  the  attention  you  have  given  me.'* 

Cries  of  "Question!  " 

A  delegate  moved  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  Rozier,  of  Missouri.  "  I  do  not  desire  to  detain  this 
Convention,  and  merely  ask  it  to  pause  for  a  moment,  and  see 
what  we  are  going  to  do  in  a  national  point  of  view.  You 
may  destroy  all  the  action  of  this  Convention.  I  have  taken 
the  broad  ground,  like  we  did  over  thirty-six  years  ago,  taken 
by  the  ablest  men  of  this  country,  that  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  does  not  permit  the  appropriation  of  public 
money  for  local  matters.  It  is  against  every  principle  of  our 
Government.  The  only  question  to  be  decided  by  this  Con- 
vention— [Cries  of  "Question!"]  I  see  the  popular  senti- 
ment is  so  strong  against  any  movement  in  this  direction  that 
they  do  not  wish  to  listen  to  any  argument  in  the  case,  in 
violation  of  everything.  The  honorable  gentleman  himself 
from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  presented  just  the  very 
proposition  I  am  going  to  maintain.  The  very  committee  of 
this  Convention  have  reported  a  set  of  resolutions,  and  yet 
to-day,  in  violation,  in  the  teeth  of  those  very  principles,  they 
wish  to  adopt  a  principle  that  involves  a  local  improvement. 
Gentlemen  may  flatter  themselves  that  they  may  succeed. 
On  the  contrary,  they  may  have  the  ability  to  carry  a  few 
members  ;  but,  in  a  national  point  of  view,  you  will  find  in 
time  that  if  you  admit  this  principle  of  building  a  canal  from 
the  northern  part  of  Illinois,  you  will  have  to  admit  it  in 
South  Carolina,  and  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  where  will 
be  the  termination  of  this  matter?  We  have  but  one  great 


145 

object,  and  I  wish  this  Convention  to  pause.  It  is  the  im- 
provement of  a  great  national  river  that  has  brought  you  here, 
and  I  hope  you  will  not  weigh  it  down  with  other  matters.  I 
hope  this  Convention  will  not  make  this  fatal  error.  It. will 
be  fatal ;  it  will  hinder  you  ;  it  will  not  aid  you." 

The  President.  "  The  question  is,  shall  the  vote  of  yes- 
terday, by  which  the  supplementary  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Kesolutions  was  rejected,  be  reconsidered.  Are  you  ready 
for  the  question?  [Cries  of  "  Question !"]  As  many  as 
favor  reconsideration  will  say  '  aye/  ' 

The  vote  was  then  taken. 

The  President.  "  The  *  ayes  '  have  it  by  a  large  majority, 
and  the  motion  prevails.  The  motion  is  now  in  order,  and 
made,  that  the  resolution  as  offered  be  adopted.  That  is  the 
question  before  the  Convention." 

Mr.  George  H.  Shields,  of  Missouri.  "I  have  listened 
to  remarks  made  by  gentlemen  representing  the  extremes  of 
this  continent,  and  I  am  willing  to  say  that  I  endorse  every 
word  that  they  have  said.  I  believe  that  the  improvement  of 
the  great  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  is  of  paramount  im- 
portance to  fall  other  internal  improvement  schemes  now 
before  the  people,  or  that  ever  have  been  before  the  people. 
I  believe,  sir,  that  the  improvement  of  each  of  these  rivers  is 
absolutely  necessary ;  but  I  believe  that  each  and  every  one  of 
those  propositions  ought  to  stand  upon  its  own  merits,  to  go 
before  Congress  asking  appropriations  for  such  schemes  as 
meritorious,  and  for  those  only.  I  want  it  distinctly  under- 
stood that  I  believe  that  the  Hennepin  canal,  or  any  other 
canal  that  offers  additional  facilities  for  water  transportation, 
and  cheapens  the  rates  to  the  great  seaboard  of  this  country, 
ought  to  be  supported  by  Congress,  and  by  the  people  all 
over  the  United  States.  I  believe  that  every  brick  that  is  laid 
upon  another  in  the  city  of  Chicago  redounds  to  the  benefit  of 
the  city  of  New  Orleans,  as  well  as  the  city  of  New  York.  I 
believe  that  every  acre  of  this  country  that  is  turned  up  by  the 

10 


146 

plow,  whether  it  is  in  the  Southern  States,  or  whether  it  is  in 
the  beautiful  wheat  fields  of  the  Northwest,  redounds  to  the 
general  good  of  the  whole  nation,  and  this  Convention  ought 
to  be  broad  enough  to  take  into  consideration  any  proposition 
that  legitimately  comes  before  it.  But,  sir,  at  the  same  time, 
I  insist  that  all  of  these  propositions  ought  to  stand  exclu- 
sively on  their  own  merits.  If  this  tide-water  scheme  referred 
to  by  Col.  Slay  back  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  attract  the 
attention  of  Congress,  I  want  Congress  to  make  an  appropri- 
ation for  that  improvement  without  being  weighted  with 
appropriations  for  the  Missouri,  Ohio,  Red  river,  Arkansas 
river,  or  Mississippi  river.  I  ask  the  gentleman  from  Illinois 
(Mr.  Roberts),  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  Convention  has 
already  laid  down  a  proposition  that  these  appropriations 
ought  to  be  made  separately  ;  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this 
Convention  was  called  to  take  into  consideration  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries  ;  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  we  have  brought  to  bear  all  the  talent  of 
this  Convention  in  that  one  direction,  if  he  is  not  willing  to 
accept  an  amendment  to  the  resolution,  amend  by  striking 
out  the  words  « in  making  the  appropriations  to  improve  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries?'  If 
that  was  adopted  the  resolution  would  read  : 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  interest  of  cheap  transportation, 
and  to  afford  a  choice  of  water  routes  to  the  seaboard,  we  re- 
gard connections  between  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  river  and  the  great  lakes  as  of  great  importance, 
and  that  Congress  ought  not  to  overlook  or  disregard  the 
establishment  of  free  water  communication  between  the  valley 
of  the  great  river  of  the  West,  and  the  tide-water  of  the  East. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  what  is  the  reason  we  have  not 
been  able  to  get  heretofore  appropriations  for  the  benefit  of  this 
great  water  system  of  the  West?  It  is  because  those  who 
were  antagonistic  to  it  have  loaded  it  down  with  appropria- 
tions that  never  ought  to  have  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
bill ;  it  is  because  they  endeavored  to  so  break  the  force  of  the 


147 

public  sentiment  of  this  great  valley ;  and  I  believe,  that  if 
the  gentleman  from  Illinois  will  accept  that  amendment — 
Iowa — disconnecting  it  from  the  improvement  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  and  letting  it  stand  on  its  own  merits,  there  will 
be  one  unanimous  shout  of  approval  in  favor  of  it  in  this  Con- 
vention. I  offer  this  amendment." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  amendment  which  had  been 
offered  by  Mr.  Shields. 

Mr.  Underwood,  of  Kentucky.  "I  wish  to  make  an 
amendment  to  the  amendment.  It  is  to  this  effect : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  invite  the  attention  of  Congress  to  all 
other  practicable  water  routes  connecting  the  Mississippi  basin 
with  the  Atlantic  seaboard." 

The  President.  "Where  would  the  gentleman  have  his 
amendment  come  in?" 

Mr.  Underwood.  "  I  propose  it  as  an  amendment  to  the 
amendment ;  I  wish  to  embrace  not  only  seaboard  connection 
with  the  lakes,  but  all  other  matters  which,  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  great  system,  should  be  and  will  be  made.  Fur- 
thermore, upon  the  subject,  I  would  like  to  say  that  we  have 
invited  here  all  members  of  Congress  from  this  valley,  and 
that  the  Hon.  John  T.  White,  from  Kentucky,  is  present,  and 
I  would  like  him  to  be  heard  upon  the  subject  of  the  amend- 
ment." 

The  President.  "Mr.  White  is  invited  to  speak  to  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky,  if  he 
desires  to  be  heard  upon  that  amendment." 

Mr.  Underwood.  "  I  have  the  honor  to  introduce  to  you 
Hon.  John  T.  White,  the  representative  in  Congress  from  the 
mountain  district  of  Kentucky." 

Mr.  White  said  : 

"I  am  exceedingly  gratified  at  the  compliment  that  has 
been  paid  to  me  by  my  friend  from  Kentucky,  and  by  this 
Convention,  and  at  the  remarks  that  have  been  made  this 


148 

morning  by  gentlemen  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  but 
especially  the  liberality  of  the  Missouri  delegates.  It  occurred 
to  us  on  yesterday,  when  this  resolution  was  voted  down,  in 
which  the  Illinois  delegation  seemed  to  be  divided  in  opinion, 
that  it  was  an  unkind  thing  in  the  Missouri  delegation  to  re- 
fuse to  call  attention  to  a  canal-way,  connecting  the  waters  of 
the  Missouri  with  the  great  lake  system,  and  I  am  happy,  as  I 
believe  this  Convention  is  happy,  that  this  morning  that 
seeming  injustice, — that  seeming  disregard  of  the  rights  of 
another  portion  of  this  country, — should  be  recognized.  This 
amendment  to  the  resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Kentucky  (Mr.  Underwood),  calls  attention  to  a  system  of 
water-ways  which  you  may  remember  was  considered  in  1868, 
in  part ;  a  canal-way  connecting  the  Tennessee  with  the  Atlan- 
tic seaboard,  a  canal-way  connecting  the  Upper  Ohio  river 
with  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  At  that  time  it  was  considered  as 
not  very  important,  but  to-day  we  see  the  importance  of  con- 
sidering more  water-ways  than  one.  The  lake  system  will 
not  answer,  and  this  Mississippi  river,  when  it  is  improved, 
will  not  supply  the  wants  of  the  great  valley  any  more  than 
your  bridge  will  now  allow  all  freights  to  pass  ;  we  feel  it 
necessary  that  St.  Louis  should  have  two  or  three  bridges, 
and  so  this  great  Mississippi  basin,  with  its  wonderful 
resources,  will,  in  a  short  time,  feel  the  necessity  of  more  water- 
ways than  one.  In  the  first  place,  the  lakes  are  closed  up  in 
winter ;  that  of  itself  is  a  condition  to  call  attention  to  the 
Mississippi  river,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  quantity  of  land 
that  is  annually  submerged  by  overflow  of  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi that  has  yet  to  be  reclaimed,  and  the  State  of  Louisiana 
be  made  an  empire  to  feed  this  nation  with  productions  now 
brought  from  abroad.  These  matters  call  for  our  greatest 
consideration  of  the  Mississippi  river.  So  are  we  to  look  for 
a  route  of  transportation  that  will  not  freeze  up,  coming  from 
the  Mississippi  river  basin  and  connecting  with  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  and  the  resolution  presented  by  .Judge  Underwood 
of  Kentucky  looks  to  that  point.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  state- 


149 

inent  from  one  of  the  foremost  scientists  of  this  country.  I 
do  not  wish  the  Convention  to  think  1  am  going  to  take  up 
more  than  two  or  three  minutes  of  its  time.  I  don't  propose 
to  read  all  this  pamphlet,  but  only  one  part.  It  is  by  Prof. 
Shaler,  of  Harvard  College,  but  at  that  time  Geologist  of  the 
State  of  Kentucky.  He  says  : 

"  'After  careful  study  of  the  route  from  the  Kentucky  river 
through  Cumberland  Gap,  it  is  evident  the  project  is  entirely 
feasible,  and  likely  to  be  of  very  great  importance  in  develop- 
ing the  mineral  resources  of  the  State,  as  well  as  of  East 
Tennessee  ;  and,  furthermore,  that  the  cost  of  the  water-way 
is  likely  to  be  exceedingly  small  when  compared  with  the 
practical  results  likely  to  be  obtained  from  this  work.'  And 
again  :  '  I  believe  this  to  be  one  of  the  most  practical  water- 
ways from  the  central  region  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  sea.  It 
would  have  the  advantage  over  the  principal  northern  water 
routes  of  at  least  four  months  more  navigation  in  the  year.' 
Four  months  more  navigation  to  St.  Louis  and  to  the  great 
Northwest,  and  to  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley,  is  of  incalcu- 
lable moment  to  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention.  I  can 
remember,  and  other  gentlemen  on  this  floor  can  remember, 
when  it  was  the  policy  of  a  great  party  in  this  country  to 
make  no  appropriations  for  internal  improvements  ;  but  the 
Eiist  has  constantly  gone  on  improving  its  rivers  and  harbors  ; 
the  South  and  West,  to  a  large  extent,  has  fallen  in  with  the 
idea  that  it  is  all  wrong,  and  will  not  ask  for  any  of  these 
appropriations.  Now,  if  the  South  changes  its  course, 
changes  its  base  in  this  regard,  the  people  of  the  South 
will  have  to  instruct  its  members  in  Congress  to  vote  for 
appropriations  for  Southern  rivers,  as  well  as  to  allow  East- 
ern members  to  vote  appropriations  for  Eastern  harbors. 
And  until  the  public  are  thoroughly  aroused,  your  Convention 
will  amount  to  nothing.  What  is  the  use  of  the  Convention 
here  adopting  strong  resolutions  when  members  of  Congress 
stand  upon  the  doctrine  that  it  is  not  right  that  Congress 
should  make  appropriations  for  internal  improvements?  I 


150 

was  happy  to  hear  a  letter  read  from  a  distinguished  Senator 
from  my  own  State  yesterday,  in  which  he  said  he  regretted 
he  could  not  be  with  this  Convention,  but  that  he  would  be 
heard  in  the  National  Senate  this  winter.  It  is  only  two 
years  since  that  Senator  came  to  this  conclusion — one  of 
the  old  landmarks  of  the  Whig  party.  Judge  Craddock,  of 
Kentucky,  wrote  him  a  letter,  in  which  he  made  this  remark  : 
*  I  say  to  you,  in  all  candor,  in  my  opinion  the  Democratic 
party  in  Kentucky  is  only  kept  together  by  the  utter  abhor- 
rence people  have  for  the  Republican  party  ;  but  that  for  our 
hatred  to  it  we  would  go  to  pieces  in  less  than  two  years. 
No  one  who  has  observed  the  development  of  public  sentiment 
can  be  mistaken  as  to  the  signs  of  the  times.'  The  meaning 
of  all  this  is,  that  we  must  be  more  practical  in  our  policy,  or 
else  we  will  have  to  give  way  to  others  who  are.  That  is 
what  I  call  the  attention  of  this  Convention  to  ;  that  when  the 
voting  for  members  of  Congress  takes  place,  when  your  Legis- 
latures elect  members  of  the  Senate,  let  it  be  distinctly  under- 
stood that  they  are  going  to  vote  five  millions  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Mississippi  river — fifty  millions,  if  necessary — 
for  the  removal  of  obstacles,  and  the  perfecting  of  the  river 
system  ;  for  this  canal-way  connecting  the  Tennessee  with  the 
Atlantic  ;  for  the  improvement  to  connect  Iowa  with  the  Atlan- 
tic, and  other  improvements.  In  all  cheap  water-ways  the 
State  of  Missouri  is  equally  interested  with  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky, arid  this  whole  Mississippi  river  basin.  We  shall  have 
to  stand  together  as  a  unit,  to  bring  to  our  aid  all  the  support 
of  the  South,  in  Virginia,  Alabama,  from  Pittsburg  to  the 
Rockies,  from  the  lakes  to  the  Jetties,  if  you  want  to  carry 
your  resolutions  through  Congress,  and  get  a  sufficient  appro- 
priation. I  thank  you." 

Mr.  Elliot,  of  Tennessee.  "  I  rise  to  speak  to  the  amend- 
ment to  the  amendment.  If  the  amendment  is  added  to  the 
resolution  before  the  Convention,  then  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  proposed  u  little  while  ago  by  tin-  honorable  mem- 
ber from  the  city  of  St.  Louis  (  Mr.  Shields;  will  become  of 


151 

still  greater  importance,  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
Convention  simply  to  the  phraseology  of  the  resolution.  It 
is  evident  that  the  great  sentiment  of  this  Convention  is  in 
favor  of  adopting  the  resolution  which  is  proposed  to  be 
amended  in  some  form.  I  don't  propose  to  discuss  its  merits 
at  all ;  I  simply  call  the  attention  of  the  Convention  to  the 
phraseology  of  the  resolution  itself,  and,  as  I  take  it,  its  scope 
is  much  more  comprehensive  than  any  of  us  seem  to  compre- 
hend. Let  us  look  at  it  for  a  moment.  It  is  that  Congress, 
in  making  appropriations  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries, '  ought  not  to  overlook  and 
disregard.'  The  time  when,  and  the  place  where,  Congress  is 
expected  to  look,  I  suppose,  to  cheap  transportation  to  the 
eastern  seaboard,  is  clearly  indicated  here  to  be  the  time  and 
place  when  appropriations  are  proposed  to  be  made  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  and 
it  is  in  the  making  of  that  appropriation, — according  to  the 
plain  meaning  of  this  resolution, — that  Congress  is  expected 
to  mature  and  carry  on  a  scheme  for  navigation  to  the  eastern 
tide-waters.  Now,  if  the  Convention  means  that,  and  desires 
to  couple  these  propositions  together  in  this  way,  so  that  there 
shall  be  no  appropriation  made  to  improve  the  Mississippi 
river  or  its  navigable  tributaries,  unless  Congress  shall  mature 
a  plan  to  extend  navigation  to  eastern  tide-water,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  be  prepared  to  propose  appropriations  to  carry 
out  that  plan,  it  does  seem  to  me, — while  I  shall  acquiesce  in 
the  judgment  of  the  Convention  as  cheerfully  as  anybody, — 
that  we  shall  have  undone  all  the  Convention  has  done  up  to 
this  time  ;  and  instead  of  putting  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river  on  its  own  bottom,  to  stand  or  fall  on  its 
merits,  we  have  irrevocably  connected  with  it  a  system  of  im- 
provement to  extend  to  the  tide-waters  of  the  East.  If  you 
adopt  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  the 
city  of  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Shields),  and  strike  out  these  words, 
'  In  making  the  appropriation  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,'  it  does  seem  to  me  to 


152 

give  to  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Iowa  all  he  asks,  cer- 
tainly all  he  ought  to  ask." 

Mr.  Vandever,  of  Iowa.  "In  order  to  remove  the  objec- 
tion made  by  my  friend,  I  simply  propose  to  strike  out  the 
words  '  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries.' 
Then  it  will  read  that  Congress  in  making  appropriations 
should  not  overlook  and  disregard  this  connection  with  the 
lakes.  I  simply  leave  out  '  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navi- 
gable tributaries.' ' 

Mr.  Elliot,  of  Tennessee.  "I  don't  think  the  amend- 
ment proposed  by  the  gentleman  meets  the  case.  I  will  read 
it  as  it  will  stand  according  to  the  suggestion  of  the  gentle- 
man : 

"  *  And  that  Congress  in  making  appropriations  ought  not 
to  overlook  or  disregard  the  establishment  of  free  water  com- 
munication,' "  -etc. 

Mr.  Vandever,  of  Iowa.  "I  suggest  if  that  does  not 
entirely  disconnect  it  with  appropriations  for  the  Mississippi 
river?" 

Mr.  Elliot.  "It  does  not;  it  couples  the  whole  scheme 
together — the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its 
navigable  tributaries,  and  the  extension  of  navigation — the 
opening  of  cheap  communication  with  the  tide-water  of  the 
East.  It  unites  them  in  one  proposition — that  when  appro- 
priations are  made  for  any  of  the  objects, — *  that  Congress, 
in  making  appropriations !'  In  making  appropriations  for 
what  ?  What  is  the  object  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Conven- 
tion? Isn't  it  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  navigable  tributaries?  And  in  striking  out  the  words 
«  Mis-U>ippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries,'  do  you  alter 
the  sense  of  the  resolution?  No.  There  is  no  other  object 
for  which  appropriations  are  contemplated  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  Convention,  but  for  the  improvement  of  the 
river  and  its  navigable  tributaries.  When  you  say, 
in  making  appropriations  ought  not  to  overlook  or  disregard 
this  other  scheme,  you  mean  Congress  shall  not  overlook  it, 


153 

and  shall  make  appropriations  for  carrying  it  on.  That  is  the 
platform  the  Convention  will  stand  upon,  if  the  resolution  is 
adopted  as  it  now  stands." 

Mr.  Blakely,  of  Minnesota.  "  Any  interest  that  seeks  to 
improve  the  Mississippi  river,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  is 
the  one  object  for  consideration,  and  anything  else  except 
that  is  irrelevant.  I  appeal  to  you,  in  the  interest  of  success, 
that  we  go  back  and  simply  recognize  and  stand  where  we  did 
yesterday;  that  is,  the  endorsement  and  passage  of  the  reso- 
lutions submitted  to  you  by  the  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
and  adjourn  this  Convention  and  go  home." 

Mr.  Shields,  of  Missouri.  "After  consultation  with  the 
gentleman  from  Iowa,  who  offered  the  original  resolution,  I 
think  we  have  arrived  at  a  solution  that  will  be  satisfactory  to 
all  sides,  and  that  is  simply  to  strike  out  of  this  resolution 
these  words  :  '  To  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
river  and  its  tributaries.'  That  will  leave  the  resolution  to 
read  : 

"  <  That  in  the  interests  of  cheap  transportation,  and  to 
afford  a  choice  of  water  routes  to  the  seaboard,  we  regard 
connections  between  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi river  and  the  great  lakes  as  of  great  importance,  and 
that  Congress,  in  making  appropriations,  ought  not  to  over- 
look or  disregard  the  establishment  of  free  water  communica- 
tion between  the  valley  of  the  great  river  of  the  West  and 
tide- waters  of  the  East.' 

'•Now,  the  proposition,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  this:  This 
Convention  is  in  favor  of  any  proposition  that  facilitates 
cheap  transportation  by  water ;  and  the  reason  the  gentleman 
was  not  willing  to  accept  my  amendment  was,  it  struck  out 
the  words:  'in  making  appropriations.'  I  immediately  saw 
the  force  of  the  gentleman's  suggestion,  and  am  perfectly 
willing  to  modify  my  resolution  to  that  effect,  and  so  do." 

The  President.  "  The  gentleman  withdraws  his  first 
Amendment  ?  ' ' 

Mr.  Shields.     "Yes." 


154 

Mr.  Vandever,  of  Iowa.  "  The  amendment  is  accepted 
by  the  mover  of  the  resolution." 

Mr.  J.  P.  Root,  of  Kansas.  "  I  have  been  waiting  pa- 
tiently here  ;  coming  from  a  portion  of  territory  which  has 
not  been  heard  from,  representing  a  territory  greater  in  ex- 
tent— greater  in  land,  greater  in  water, — than  all  the  rest  of 
the  territory  represented,  and  we  have  yet  to  be  heard.  It 
was  my  fortune  to  be  on  the  Committee  on  Resolutions.  We 
had  almost  everything  presented  to  us  yesterday  before  that 
committee  that  the  Mississippi  Valley  demanded.  The  Missouri 
valley  demanded  certain  things  of  that  committee  ;  the  central 
portion  represented  in  this  committee  opposed  all  that ;  St.Louis 
and  the  Mississippi  river  proper  opposed  it.  I  am  very  glad  that 
they  have  come  to  their  senses  a  little  this  morning  ;  I  am  glad 
that  the  men  who  bitterly  opposed  everything  that  tended  out- 
side of  a  certain  direction  yesterday,  to-day  desire  to  open  a 
little;  and,  therefore,  I  believe  we  shall  be  justified,  if  the 
amendment  to  the  amendment  is  adopted,  to  also  introduce 
some  things  we  would  like  to  have  brought  before  this  Con- 
vention. In  the  interest  of  harmony  and  peace,  we  made 
some  concessions  in  the  committee, and  the  original  resolutions, 
a-  adopted  here,  were  the  result  of  long  deliberations  and 
some  very  sharp  controversy.  It  was  finally  conceded  that 
the  object  of  this  Convention  should  be  attained  by  the  orig- 
inal resolutions,  without  anything  else.  It  was  hoped  by  my 
constituency  we  would  mention  certain  things  in  that  Com- 
mittee, which  were  entirely  ignored.  I  think  that  we  shall 
open  a  door  through  which  may  enter  into  this  Convention 
things  we.  cannot  get  rid  of,  if  we  adopt  these  amendments. 
1  voted  for  the  resolutions  in  the  committee  as  a  matter  of 
compromise  ;  every  man  from  the  Missouri  valley  voted  for 
them,  notwithstanding  they  felt  they  were  aggrieved,  and  had 
just  cause  for  complaint;  and,  sir,  if  this  is  pressed,  they 
will  introduce  amendment^  ami  contend  for  them  ;  but  it  you 
will  let  the  original  resolutions,  a<  adopted  unanimously,  stand 
as  the  voice  of  this  Convention,  we  will  be  with  yon  ;  if  not,. 


155 

we  shall  not  be  with  you.  That  is  all  there  is  to  it ;  that  is- 
all  I  have  to  say." 

Cries  of  "  Question  !  " 

The  President.  "The  previous  question  has  been  de- 
manded. As  many  as  are  in  favor  of  the  previous  question 
will  say  '  aye.'  ' 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  previous  question  ordered. 

The  President.  "The  question  is  upon  the  adoption  of 
the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Missouri  (Mr. 
Shields),  which  will  now  be  read.  The  amendment  to  which 
the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  offered  an  amendment  was 
withdrawn  by  the  gentleman  from  Missouri  (Mr.  Shields),  and 
he  offered  the  amendment  which  is  now  pending  before  the 
Convention." 

Mr.  Underwood,  of  Kentucky.  "Then  I  would  like  to- 
know  whether  I  could  offer  an  amendment  to  the  present 
amendment,  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Missouri,  covering 
my  idea?" 

The  President.  "Not  now;  the  previous  question  is 
pending,  and  that  will  not  now  be  in  order." 

The  Secretary  read  the  amendment,  as  follows  : 

"Amend  the  resolution  by  striking  out  all  after  the  word 
<  appropriations,"  to  and  including  the  word  'tributaries,'  so- 
that  the  resolution  will  read  as  follows  : 

" Resolved,  That  in  the  interest  of  cheap  transportation,, 
and  to  afford  a  choice  of  water  routes  to  the  seaboard,  we 
regard  connections  between  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  and  the  great  lakes  as  of  great  importance,  and 
that  Congress,  in  making  appropriations,  ought  not  to  over- 
look or  disregard  the  establishment  of  free  water  communica- 

O 

tion  between  the  valley  of  the  great  river  of  the  West  and  tide- 
water of  the  East." 

The  President.  "As  many  as  favor  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Missouri  will  say 
'aye.'" 

A  vote  was  taken  by  division. 


156 

The  President :  "  The  *  ayes  '  have  it.  It  is  evident  more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  Convention  have  voted  for  the  adoption 
of  the  amendment.  The  count  will  proceed  if  it  is  demanded. 
The  amendment  has  been  adopted,  and  the  question  is  upon 
the  adoption  of  the  resolution  as  amended.  As  many  as  favor 
the  adoption  of  the  resolution,  as  amended,  say  'aye.'  ' 

A  vote  was  taken,  and  210  delegates  voted  in  the  affirma- 
tive, and  70  in  the  negative. 

The  President.  "The  resolution  as  amended  has  been 
adopted. " 

Mr.  Walker,  of  Minnesota.  "  I  wish  to  introduce  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Convention,  a  resolution  having  a  most 
important  bearing  upon  the  work,  or  execution  of  the  work 
which  has  been  laid  out  by  this  Convention.  I  wish,  also,  the 
privilege,  very  briefly  to  explain  the  motives  and  purposes  for 
which  this  resolution  was  drawn,  and  the  scope  of  the  resolu- 
tion. " 

The  resolution  was  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  for  the  purpose  of  expediting  the  great 
work  of  improving  16,000  miles  of  water-way,  comprising  the 
Mississippi  and  its  navigable  tributaries,  we  do  most  earnestly 
insist  and  recommend  that  Congress  make  immediate  provision 
for  the  rapid  progress  of  the  work,  by  adding  to  the  Missis- 
sippi River  Commission  at  least  eight  more  members,  five  of 
whom  shall  be  from  the  regular  corps  of  engineers  of  the  Wai- 
Department  of  the  United  States,  so  that  it  may  be  suscepti- 
ble of  division  into  three  working  parties  of  five  each,  three  of 
whom  shall  be  United  States  Engineers. 

Mr.  Walker:  "  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  I  represent  a 
part  of  the  Northwest,  in  part,  which  is  not  represented  upon 
that  map,  which  is  visible  ;  that  if  the  curtain  were  just  rolled 
up  about  ten  feet  we  could  see  where  there  are  golden  fields  of 
irrain,  more  bright  and  beautiful  than  the  beautiful  gardens 
which  adorn  this  irreat  valley;  565  miles  of  navigable  waters 
of  th»'  Mississippi  river  are  now  hid  behind  the  curtain  on  that 
map  ;  and  I  am  the  one  man  to  talk  for  that  .">•;;>  miles  of 


157 

navigable  waters  that  remain  of  the  Mississippi  river  :  and,, 
sir,  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  this  Convention  to  a  very 
important  fact,  that  is,  that  we  have — to  put  it  in  lumbermen's 
parlance — been  biting  off  more  than  we  can  chew.  We  have 
been  providing  here,  as  the  deliberate  sense  of  the  Convention, 
that  the  whole  sixteen  thousand  miles  of  water-way  of  the 
Mississippi  and  its  branches,  shall  be  handed  over  to  the  carer. 
custody,  and  control  of  the  Mississippi  River  Commission.. 
That  Commission,  gentlemen,  is  composed  of  the  ablest  men 
in  this  nation  ;  they  are  peculiarly  fitted  and  adapted  to  the 
work  which  has  been  assigned  to  them  ;  we  have  endorsed  their 
proceedings  thus  far ;  we  have  recommended  that  their  sphere- 
be  enlarged,  and  forgetting  all  the  time  that  the  Commission 
was  composed  of  seven  men,  four  regular  army  engineers,  and 
three  other  distinguished  citizens  from  civil  life  ;  to  whom  we- 
have  handed  over  16,000  miles  of  water-way,  for  them  to  adopt 
plans  for  their  improvement ;  when  the  law  under  which  they 
have  been  appointed  requires  that  they  shall  also  superintend 
the  work  which  they  lay  out.  It  is  well  known  to  every  gen- 
tleman in  this  Convention,  that  that  Commission  is  now  ac- 
tively engaged  in  executing  the  grand  work  which  they  have 
devised,  and  that  the  work  laid  off  already  will  require  con- 
siderable time,  and  considerable  money ;  and  yet  we,  standing 
away  out  on  the  borders,  have  set  down  upon  ourselves,  by 
providing  that  the  ways  and  methods  to  be  devised  yet  for  the- 
improvement  of  our  region  and  water-way  outside,  shall  be  in 
the  hands  of  this  Commission.  Life  is  short,  and  our  children 
will  not  live  long  enough  to  see  the  time  when  seven  men  of 
that  Commission  will  be  able  to  examine  the  sources  of  the- 
Missouri  river. " 

A  delegate.  "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  The  member 
who  is  now  speaking  is  a  member  of  our  delegation,  but  the 
rule  is  that  resolutions  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions  without  debate." 

Mr.  Walker,  of   Minnesota.     "  I  ask   permission  of  the- 


158 

•Convention  that  that  rule  will  be  suspended,  and  I  be  permitted 
to  offer  this  resolution." 

The  President.  "  The  gentleman  was  allowed  to  intro- 
duce the  resolution  without  objection,  and  commenced  his 
remarks.  I  would  say  to  the  gentleman  from  Minnesota  that 
he  has  reached  the  limit  of  debate  recognized  by  the  Conven- 
tion. I  am  aware  that  the  rule  was,  that  resolutions  should 
go  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  without  debate  ;  but  the 
committee  has  made  its  report,  and  the  committee  been  dis- 
charged." 

A  delegate.  "No,  the  committee  has  not  been  dis- 
charged . ' ' 

Another  delegate.  «<  I  move  that  the  rule  be  suspended, 
and  that  the  gentleman  have  time  to  elaborate  the  idea  he  is 
pregnant  with." 

The  President.  "  The  gentleman  from  Minnesota  intro- 
duced a  resolution  quite  late,  the  Chair  confesses,  in  the 
business  of  this  Convention  ;  he  was  allowed  to  proceed  with- 
out objection,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  gentleman  should 
be  allowed  to  complete  the  remarks  which  he  had  begun ;  and 
yet  the  Chair  desires  the  gentleman  from  Minnesota  to  recog- 
nize the  fact  that  this  Convention  does  not  desire  long  to 
listen  to  anything  which  he  may  have  to  say." 

Mr.  Walker,  of  Minnesota.  "I  had  well-nigh  concluded 
my  remarks.  In  order  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  of 
this  Convention,  that  this  whole  16,000  miles  of  water-way 
should  be  relegated  to  the  care  and  control  of  that  Commis- 
sion, it  has  been  thought  wise  that  the  Commission  itself,  with 
extended  jurisdiction,  also  be  increased  in  number.  At 
present  this  Commission  has  its  hands  full.  If  we  have  to 
have  this  work  expedited,  we  must  have  a  greater  force  at  work 
on  the  Commission  ;  and  hence,  I  provide  by  this  resolution, 
that  with  the  increased  work  proposed  by  this  Convention, 
there  will  also  be  provided  a  superior  number  on  the  Commis- 
sion, and  have  them  added  to  it.  I  submit  this  resolution  for 
the  consideration  of  this  Convention.  I  hope  that  seven  men 


159 

will  not  be  required  to  devise  ways  and  methods  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Alleghany,  Monongahela,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Cumberland,  Ohio,  the  grand  Missouri,  and  all  its 
glorious  tributaries,  and  to  go  up  the  Missouri  and  investigate 
what  we  need  there.  We  want  the  work  done  quickly,  and 
we  intend  that  Congress  shall  make  the  necessary  appropria- 
tions to  carry  it  out  quickly." 

Mr.  Hitchcock,  of  Missouri.  "I  wish  to  make  a  state- 
ment of  fact,  and  the  gentleman  from  Minnesota  will,  I  think, 
see  that  his  resolution  is  not  needed,  if  he  will  look  at  the 
resolutions  already  adopted.  He  is  mistaken  in  supposing 
that  the  Convention  has  adopted  resolutions  referring  all  this 
work  to  the  Commission  of  seven.  It  has  expressly  declared 
that  Congress  should  apply  a  complete  system  to  all  other 
rivers.  In  other  words  it  has  called  for  the  very  thing  the 
gentleman  wants.  The  Committee  on  Resolutions  did  not  feel 

•  o 

themselves  justified,  nor  did  they  think  it  would  be  wise,  to 
undertake  in  five  minutes  to  dictate  the  extension  of  that 
Commission  system." 

The  question  was  put  on  the  adoption  of  the  resolution, 
and  it  was  not  adopted. 

Mr.  McEnery,  of  Louisiana.  "Mr.  President,  I  under- 
stand there  is  present  on  the  floor  of  this  Convention  one  of 
Pennsylvania's  ablest  and  most  distinguished  men,  and  now  a 
member  of  Congress  ;  I  refer  to  the  Hon.  W.  S.  Shallenberger. 
I  move  that  Mr.  Shallenberger  be  invited  to  address  this  Con- 
vention from  the  stand."  [Cheers.] 

The  motion  was  seconded  and  carried. 

Mr.  Shallenberger  said  : 

MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION:  I  trust  that  I 
am  not  so  little  appreciative  of  the  temper  of  a  body  like  this  a-  to  trespas.- 
upon  its  time.  Hence,  if  you  will  bear  with  me  a  moment.  I  shall  just 
acknowledge  the  compliment  you  have  paid  to  me.  and  to  the  great  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  that  appears  here  to-day  to  second  what  you  have  done,  and 

ly  that  it.  I  pledge  you.  will  appear  on  the  floor  of  Congress  with  its 
twenty— i'v«-n  vote*.  I  hope  [cheers]  to  give  to  the  great  31i>.-i->ippi  Valley 
that  which  you  have  said  to-day  she  needs.  I  am  here  to  speak  for  myself 


160 

alone.  When  I  say  that  I  heartily  endorse,  not  alone  the  specific  action  of 
this  Convention,  but  in  that  broader,  better  sense,  I  endorse  what  I  see  in, 
these  intelligent  faces  to  be  the  great  outlying  and  underlying  thought  of  the 
Mi--i— ippi  Valley.  [Cheers.J  Because,  gentlemen,  you  know,  and  I  know,, 
that  resolutions  sometimes  express  what  we  desire  them  to,  and  some- 
times they  do  not.  We  sometimes  get  from  a  committee  adished-up  reso- 
lution, that  passes  by  common  consent,  neither  binding  upon  those  who- 
desire  to  operate  under  it,  nor  upon  those  for  whom  it  was  intended. 

But  I  take  it,  in  accord  with  the  sentiment  of  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Commission,  yesterday  (Mr.  Taylor),  that  the  grand,  central 
thought  of  this  Convention  must  impress  itself  upon  Congress  and  the 
country.  It  cannot  be  possible  that  delegates  like  those  I  see  around  me 
this  morning,  coming  from  all  over  the  broad  States  bordering  on  the  Mis-- 
-i--ippi  and  its  tributaries,  coming  here  from  their  business  one  thousand 
miles  by  rail  and  water,  have  come  here  for  the  simple  purpose  of  enacting 
platitudes  in  the  shape  of  eloquent  resolutions.  Xo!  Xo!  There  is  no< 
language  so  eloquent  or  forcible  as  to  convey  properly  the  motive,  the  intel- 
lectual force,  and  the  practical  and  powerful  enforcement  of  what  this 
Convention  intends  to  convey.  [Cheers.]  I  say,  and  say  it  with  all  the 
more  pleasure  because  the  Convention  has  recently  adopted  a  resolution,, 
which,  while  I  didn't  think  it  desirable  to  introduce,— while,  indeed,  I  should 
have  been  glad  if  the  Convention  had  left  it  out  entirely, — I  refer  now  to 
the  resolution  referring  to  the  communication  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard, — 
I  say  while  I  should  have  hoped  that  this  Convention,  called  for  a  specific 
purpose,  having  completed  so  fully,  and  as  I  think  admirably,  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  convened,  should  have  adjourned,  and  allowed  that  specific- 
effort.  with  all  its  force  and  cogency,  to  operate  upon  Congress;  yet  when, 
that  resolution  was  introduced  I  was  exceedingly  glad  it  was  accepted,  lest, 
the  impression  should  go  out  that  we  were  against  any  competition  by 
water,  east  or  west,  north  or  south.  And  I  was  glad  that  the  recognition 
wa- made  that  there  might  possibly  be  other  outlets  for  the  Mississippi- 
Valley  than  the  great  lakes  of  the  Xorth.  Indeed,  gentlemen,  I  think  the 
time  is  coming  when  the  United  States  will  understand  that  engineering 
-kill  will  give  us  from  the  Ohio  a  rapid,  a  free  inter-communication. with 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.  And  when  you  come  to  think  that  the  Ohio  has  upon 
its  bosom  to-day  more  tonnage — together  with  the  Monongahela,  which  I 
represent — more  tonnage  than  all  the  railroads  of  the  United  States  com- 
bined, then,  gentlemen,  you  begin  to  understand  why  it  is  that  we  want  tin- 
Mi  —  i--ippi  river  improved.  We  expect  to  send  you  millions  upon  million- 
of  tons  of  freight  that  you  need,  and  we  want  to  sell  coal  by  the  hundred 
million-,  that  your  manufacturing  establishments  south  and  southwest. 
your  sugar  mil U  and  your  cotton  gins  will  use.  ami  de-ire  to  have  cheaper 
than  you  now  get  it.  I  say  when  you  comprehend  the  fact,  that  the  Ohio 
river  alone  sends  upon  its  bosom  to  the  MN-i--ippi  to-day  more,  perhaps,. 
than  all  the  Mi--i--ippi  north  of  St.  Loiii-.  then  you  can  understand  why  it 
i-  that  Ohio  has  not  made  itself  heard  upon  this  tloor.  because,  she  believe- 
that  the  facts,  the  statistics,  the  power  of  her  influence  in  <  'ougiv--.  xviii  |M> 


161 

felt  in  accord  with  the  resolutions  that  have  been  adopted,  and  which  I 
think  so  wisely  framed  to  include  these  great  tributaries. 

And  now,  I  say,  Pennsylvania,  at  tin-  headwaters  of  the  Ohio,  having 
there  the  tonnage  which  I  have  named,  having  there  one  hundred  millions 
of  bushels  of  coal  coming  through  one  lock  in  one  year,  to  set  aglow  all  your 
furnaces  and  forges,  mills  and  manufactories — I  say  we  come  here  to-day  to 
emphasize  our  demand  with  yours  for  the  rapid,  scientific,  and  complete 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi.  [Cheers.]  I  congratulate  the  Convention 
upon  the  grand  success  which  I  think  has  attended  its  session.  I  sincerely 
congratulate  you.  gentlemen,  that,  in  the  language  of  our  eloquent  friend 
yesterday  (Mr.  Taylor) ,  it  has  not  formed  a  delta,  but  has  spoken  through 
one  throat,  and  I  shall  hail  the  day  as  an  auspicious  one  for  this  country 
when  the  great  steamers  of  the  Gulf  shall  ply  between  St.  Louis  and  Xew 
Orleans,  as  an  active,  busy  shuttle  and  web.  knitting  together  in  one 
common  interest,  one  common  destiny,  one  common  prosperity,  steaming 
along  the  great  wharves  from  the  headwaters  to  the  Gulf,  and  through  all 
its  great  tributaries,  east  and  west,  knitting  them  together  in  a  bond  that 
shall  never  sunder.  [Cheers.] 

Mr.  Graves,  of  Iowa.    "I  offer  the  following  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  That  our  grateful  acknowledgment  is  hereby 
made  to  the  Merchants'  Exchange  of  St.  Louis,  and  to  the 
several  committees,  for  the  generous  hospitality  extended,  and 
the  uniform  kindness  which  has  greeted  us  on  every  hand." 

The  resolution  was  adopted  unanimously. 

Mr.  Michael  McEnnis,  of  Missouri.  "  As  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  I  desire  to  say,  that  in  our  official 
call  and  other  things,  there  are  several  words  in  there 
which  rather  reflect  on  the  tardiness  of  members  of  Congress, 
and  throw  out  some  hints  that  we  are  very  much  displeased 
with  them.  But  their  action  in  reference  to  the  appropria- 
tions that  were  final,  and  in  establishing  the  Commission, 
places  us  under  heavy  obligations,  and  to  give  expression  to 
this,  I  desire  to  offer  the  following  resolution  : 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  fully  appreciates  the  action 
of  the  friends  of  river  improvement  in  Congress,  who  have 
advocated  and  sustained  by  their  votes  the  granting  of  such 
needed  appropriations  as  have  been  necessary  to  carry  on  the 
work  already  commenced  for  the  improvement  of  our  Western 
water-ways,  and  trust  that  their  endeavors  in  promoting  the 
interests  of  commerce  will  finally  be  crowned  with  success." 

The  resolution  was  adopted  unanimously. 

11 


162 

Mr.  Chase,  of  Nebraska,  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  tendered 
to  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  for  courtesies  ex- 
tended to  the  members  of  this  Convention,  through  Mrs.  Hall, 
general  manager  of  the  telegraph  office  at  the  Southern  hotel. 

Mr.  McEnery,  of  Louisiana,  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  adopted  unanimously  by  a  rising  vote  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  are  hereby 
tendered  to  the  Hon.  M.  H.  Dunnell,  President  of  this  Con- 
vention, for  the  able  and  impartial  manner  in  which  he  has 
discharged  the  difficult  duties  of  his  position ;  and  also  to  the 
Secretaries,  George  L.  Wright,  Frank  Gaiennie,  N.  M.  Bell, 
and  other  officers  of  the  Convention,  for  the  very  able  and 
efficient  discharge  of  their  various  duties. 

Mr.  Bain,  of  Missouri.  "  As  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Reception,  I  desire  to  inform  the  gentlemen  that  as  soon  as 
the  Convention  adjourns,  we  shall  have  the  Arsenal  band,  and 
will  march  down  to  the  steamboat  and  barges  that  are  to  take 
us  down  the  river.  There  will  be  a  lunch,  and  probably  some- 
thing to  drink  on  the  boat  [laughter] ,  and  every  gentleman 
who  has  not  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  will  have  all  the 
opportunity  he  wants  there." 

A  delegate  moved  that  the  Convention  listen  to  some  re- 
marks from  Congressman  Willis,  of  Kentucky. 

The  motion  was  carried. 
Mr.  Willis  said  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN:  Although  not  as  old  a  politician 
a-  my  friend  (the  delegate  just  referred  to),  I  am  old  enough,  and  am  ex- 
perienced enough  in  discussing  questions  before  bodies  like  this,  to  know 
that  there  are  two  things  against  which  no  man  can  speak,  and  those  two 
are  a  brass  band  and  a  prospective  lunch.  It  is  true,  as  my  friend  from 
Illinois,  Mr.  Springer,  who  is  a  gro— -inner  in  regard  to  river  and  harbor 
appropriations  [laughter],  and  whom  you  ought  to  call  to  the  bar  and 
ask  for  works  meet  unto  repentance,  and  not  me.  I  say —  [A  delegate. 
"  What  liar?  "]  A  gentleman  cn<|uircs  what  bar.  When  he  is  presented  at 
the  bar  of  that  boat,  he  will  speak  for  himself.  [Laughter.]  But  there  i- 
another  bar,  before  which  he  and  I.  and  every  member  of  Congress,  has  to 


163 

appear,  and  that  bar  is  represented  by  the  intelligence  of  the  enthusiastic 
gentlemen  whom  I  see  before  me — it  is  the  great  bar  of  public  opinion. 
And.  fellow-citizens,  allow  me  to  say  that  there  is  cause  for  congratulation 
on  the  part  of  friends  of  Mis.-issippi  river  improvement,  not  only  in  the 
l>i VM-nce  here  of  a  thousand  delegates,  called  together  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  who  have  issued  what  I  will  call  a  second  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence— independence  of  railroad  monopolies  [cheers] ;  independence 
of  those  who  would  change  the  course  of  what  God  intended  should  go 
down  these  great  streams.  I  say,  independent  of  that,  you  have,  in  the 
condition  of  the  public  treasury,  great  cause  for  congratulation. 

These  great  cities  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  have  poured  their  wealth 
into  the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  and  now,  for  the  first  time  in  twenty  - 
five  years,  [we  have  more  money  than  we  know  what  to  do  with.  It  has 
been  suggested  by  some  that  we  have  a  high  protective  tariff ;  but  we  in 
this  Convention,  have  a  better  suggestion  than  that,  and  that  is  that  the 
money  gathered  from  the  taxes  on  whisky  and  tobacco  be  appropriated  to 
the  improvement  of  this  majestic,  this  grand  system  of  water-ways,  and 
then  we  can  hope  for  a  return  to  the  country  of  some  of  the  money  that  has 
been  expended  on  internal  improvements.  And,  without  detaining  you, 
because  I  can  almost  smell  afar  off  the  battle  I  know  there  will  be  on  the 
boat,  there  is  another  consideration  that  has  not  been  alluded  to  from  year 
to  year,  and  we  have  not  regretted  it :  we  have  witnessed  the  expenditure 
of  millions  of  dollars  for  lighthouses,  for  harbors,  and,  if  my  friend  from 
Xew  York  (Mr.  Osborne)  were  not  present,  I  would  make  a  casual  remark 
that,  near  the  city  of  Xew  York,  there  have  been  expended  millions  of 
money  in  removing  obstructions  at  what  is  called  "Hell  Gate,"  and,  doubt- 
less, it  was  necessary  to  have  that  gate  open  there.  [Laughter.]  The 
amount  of  money  expended  at  Hell  Gate  alone  is  greater  than  the  whole 
Mississippi  river  has  received  in  a  decade.  I  say  that,  while  we  do  not 
regret  it,  we  can  now  look  forward  to  an  unexpected  and  irresistible  ally  to 
Mississippi  river  improvement,  and  that,  fellow-citizens,  is  the  census  of 
1880.  You  know — because  the  figures,  which  do  not  lie,  are  before  us — that 
only  a  short  time  hence  she  will  see  the  sceptre  of  power,  that  has  so  long 
been  held  in  the  hands  of  the  East,  will  drop  from  its  nerveless  hand 
and  enfeebled  grasp,  to  be  seized  by  the  lusty,  vigorous  young  child  of  the 
"West;  and  that  when  Congress  makes  the  new  apportionments,  based  on  the 
last  census,  you  will  have  upon  the  floor  of  Congress  an  increased  number 
of  representatives,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  votes  to  demand  and  secure 
the  proper  and  just  improvement  of  your  great  river.  [Cheers.]  But,  fel- 
low-citizens, I  have  now  detained  you  longer  than  I  thought  I  would ;  as  I 
said  before,  there  are  other  gentlemen  here  whom  I  would  like  to  see  com- 
mitted on  this  question.  I  was  glad  to  hear  such  a  good  report  from  Mr. 
Cannon:  I  was  glad  to  hear  him  say,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  that  he 
would  be  found  active  in  the  support  of  these  measures.  What  you  want, 
what  we  need,  is  not  resolutions,  but  votes,  votes,  and  those  votes  come 
through  the  power  of  public  opinion,  molded,  and  shaped,  and  wisely 
guided  by  representative  conventions  such  as  this.  I  need  not  say  that  our 


164 

own  city  and  State  delegations  will  ever  be  found  ready  to  further,  second 
and  promote  these  appropriations ;  and  in  the  name  of  the  city  of  Louis- 
ville, which  I  have  the  honor  to  represent,  a  city  connected  by  twelve 
thousand  miles  of  navigable  rivers,  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  favorable 
surroundings  that  now  present  themselves,  and  I  wish  you  and  the  friends 
of  the  Mississippi  improvement  a  God -speed  in  the  accomplishment  of  your 
fullest  and  wisest  purposes  in  this  direction.  [Loud  cheers.] 

Mr.  Underwood,  of  Kentucky.  "I  offer  the  following 
resolution : 

" Resolved ,  That  this  Convention  is  not  unmindful  of  the 
great  loss  the  country  has  sustained  in  the  untimely  death  of 
James  A.  Garfield,  whose  name  is  inseparably  connected  with 
the  proposed  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  system, 
and  we  extend  our  profound  sympathies  to  the  bereaved 
family. 

"Mr.  President,  I  have  no  comments  to  make  ;  I  know  the 
expression  of  feeling  and  sentiment  from  this  body  is  more 
eloquent  and  powerful  than  any  words  I  could  utter ;  I  would 
like,  however,  sir,  if  it  be  not  inappropriate  now,  to  call 
attention  of  the  Convention  to  one  other  fact  or  consideration  : 
We  have  heard  from  all  quarters  of  this  valley  ;  there  is,  how- 
ever, one  important  body  of  men  who  have  not  been  heard 
from,  and  that  is  practical  steamboatmen.  There  is  a  man  in 
this  audience,  who  is  a  representative  of  that  body  of  men, 
from  the  city  of  New  Orleans — Capt.  Leather.  I  think  this 
audience  would  like  to  hear  from  him  at  an  appropriate 
time." 

The  President.  "  As  many  as  favor  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution  read  by  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky,  will  so  vote 
by  standing." 

The  whole  Convention  rose  and  the  resolution  was  unani- 
mously adopted. 

Mr.  Cole,  of  Missouri.  "  I  want  the  Convention  to  listen 
to  Mr.  Springer  for  a  few  minutes." 

The  President.  "  The  chair  will  be  glad,  with  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Convention,  to  listen  to  the  gentleman  from 
Illinois,  Hon.  Wm.  M.  Springer." 


165 

Mr.  Springer  said : 

"  If  there  is  anything  more  pleasing  than  another  to  the 
average  American  citizen,  it  is  a  brass  band  and  a  procession 
of  American  citizens  stepping  to  music.  Such  a  thing  being 
in  contemplation  the  idea  of  stopping  to  listen  to  a  speech  is 
out  of  the  question.  We  are  all  very  much  interested  in  the 
improvement  of  our  river  system,  and  we  propose  to  take  our 
places  on  the  boats  and  barges  that  go  down  to  a  place  in  the 
river  which  has  received  some  of  the  benefits  from  the  appro- 
priations made  by  Congress,  and  we  are  now  about  to  depart 
for  that  purpose.  As  you  have  finished  the  work  you  had  in 
hand  it  may  be  proper  for  me  to  say,  by  way  of  recapitulation, 
that  you  have,  as  I  understand  it,  agreed  to  two  things,  and 
agreed  to  them  unanimously :  The  first  is,  that  in  future 
appropriations  for  the  Mississippi  river  you  will  pursue  the 
plan  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  Commission  of  the  United 
States,  in  pursuance  of  law.  That  plan  has  been  explained 
to  this  Convention.  It  is  understood  now  by  all  the  people  in 
the  valley,  that  all  future  efforts  in  the  direction  of  improving 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  are 
to  be  upon  that  plan.  I  congratulate  the  people  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  that  we  have  arrived  at  that  stage  of  the 
question  which  gives  the  whole  voice  of  the  valley  to  one 
idea,  and  which  directs  all  of  our  efforts  to  one  system  of 
improving  this  great  river.  So  much,  then,  is  understood. 
The  next  proposition  which  I  believe  was  agreed  upon  by  this 
Convention,  is  that  this  great  question  is  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  make  it  a  question  by  itself,  to  stanci  on  its  own 
merits.  The  difficulty  with  the  improvement  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river  and  its  tributaries  heretofore  has  been  that  every 
little  stream  in  the  country  has  recognized  this  question  as 
one  upon  which  to  ride  upon,  therefore  the  Mississippi  river 
has  not  been  placed,  owing  to  this  condition  of  things,  before 
Congress  upon  its  own  merits.  But  henceforth  the  stand  to 
be  taken  upon  it  is  that  this  is  a  national  question,  demanding 
recognition  upon  its  own  merits,  and  that  this  great  river  shall 


166 

have  appropriations  to  make  it  what  it  is  by  Nature — the  high- 
way from  all  this  valley  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  I  congratulate 
you  that  we  have  reached  this  advanced  stage  in  this  great 
work,  and  it  is  well  for  representatives  to  have  met  here  to 
consider  this  question  at  this  early  time.  You  have  had 
statistics  of  the  resources  of  this  wonderful  valley.  If  you 
will  travel  over  the  great  territory  between  this  point  and  the 
base  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  and  see  what  there  is  lying  still 
untouched  and  undeveloped  by  the  hand  of  industry,  you  will 
see  that  our  present  resources  are  as  nothing  compared  with 
what  twenty-five  years  will  bring  to  the  Mississippi  Valley  of 
the  products  beyond  the  valley.  It  is  time  we  should  begin 
to  put  up  our  warehouses  in  order,  and  get  our  great  river 
ready  for  the  teeming  products  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
I  congratulate  you  upon  having  done  your  work  well ;  your 
voice  will  be  heard  not  only  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  but  will 
be  heard  across  the  Alleghanies  ;  and  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York  will  join  hands  with  you,  and  recognize  that  the  great 
problem  of  the  future  is  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi 
river  and  its  tributaries."  [Cheers.] 

Mr.  D.  P.  Rowland,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following 
resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  tendered 
to  the  proprietors  of  the  Grand  Opera-house  for  the  use  of 
their  beautiful  building  for  the  deliberations  of  this  Conven- 
tion. 

The  resolution  was  adopted  with  acclamation. 

The  President.  "  The  chair  wishes  to  make  a  statement. 
Yesterday  the  Convention  adopted  a  resolution,  making  it  the 
duty  of  the  President  of  this  Convention  to  appoint  a  committee 
of  twenty-one.  The  duty  is  a  difficult  one  to  perform,  and 
the  Chair  will  be  pleased  to  have  information  communi- 
cated from  the  different  delegations,  so  this  committee  may  be 
made  up  happily  and  fortunately  for  the  Convention/' 

Mr.  Slayback,  of  Missouri,  then  moved  that  the  Conven- 
tion adjourn  sine  die. 


167 

The  motion  was  put  and  carried,  and  the  Convention  ad- 
journed sine  die. 

After  the  Convention  adjourned  the  delegates  and  guests, 
headed  by  the  Arsenal  baud,  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  the 
foot  of  Elm  street,  where  the  steamer  "  Future  City  "  and  five 
barges  awaited  them. 

The  following  description  of  the  excursion  given  to  the 
Convention  is  taken  from  the  Globe- Democrat  of  October 
29th : 

The  most  potent  argument  that  could  be  adduced  in 
favor  of  improving  the  Mississippi  was  presented  yesterday 
afternoon,  in  the  practical  illustration  of  the  river  transporta- 
tion, as  exhibited  in  the  make-up  of  the  barge  excursion  down 
the  river.  The  sight  was  a  novelty  of  unquestionable  attrac- 
tion to  numbers  of  delegates  hailing  from  interior  constitu- 
encies who  had  never  had  the  satisfaction  of  inspecting  or 
viewing  a  fleet  of  barges,  which  is  an  institution  peculiar  to 
the  Mississippi  river.  Those  from  the  North  were  surprised 
at  the  economical  application  of  power,  obtained  by  placing 
the  motor  in  rear  of  the  tow,  instead  of  moving  it  from  the 
van  by  a  connecting  cable.  The  capacious  barges,  each  of 
them  capable  of  receiving  and  carrying  60,000  bushels  of 
grain,  excited  wonderment  and  amazement  among  gentlemen 
of  an  inquiring  turn  of  mind,  who  enhanced  their  store  of 
knowledge  by  investigating  the  means  afforded  by  the  Trans- 
portation Company  for  conveying  the  products  of  the  West  to 
the  seaboard. 

The  engine-room  of  the  steamer  presented  the  appearance 
of  a  reception-room,  as  the  delegates  filed  in  on  the  starboard 
quarter  and  retreated  on  the  port-side  after  minutely  inspect- 
ing the  ponderous  machinery  as  it  revolved  in  obedience  to  the 
signals  from  the  wheel-house.  The  engineers  and  officers  of 
the  craft  were  most  attentive  in  supplying  intelligence  relative 
to  dimensions,  power,  capacity,  pressure,  etc.,  of  the  engines 
and  boilers,  and  the  facts  thus  tersely  placed  before  the  visitors 


168 

proved  a  revelation  in  scientific  engineering  to  many  gentle- 
men who  have  hitherto  plumed  themselves  on  the  acquaintance 
with  all  topics  connected  with  navigation. 

Entering  on  the  main  deck  the  arrivals  were  confronted  by 
long  rows  of  richly-laden  tables,  decorated  with  fine  glass- 
ware and  various  specimens  of  the  culinary  art  that  it  is  un- 
necessary to  mention.  Stage  planks  were  laid  in  position  to  con- 
nect the  four  boats  and  the  tow-boat,  and,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  the  accommodations  were  on  a  parallel  with  the 
largest  steamers  afloat.  Greater  liberty  was  afforded  for  cir- 
culation, and  with  the  visitors  a  promenade  around  the  fleet 
became  a  favorite  feature  of  the  trip.  The  upper  decks  were 
gained  by  improvised  stairways  opening  out  through  the  ele- 
vator hatches,  and  those  who  preferred  the  invigorating  breeze 
to  the  confined  atmosphere  between  the  decks,  had  no  occa- 
sion to  complain. 

The  "  Future  City"  was  relegated  to  the  ladies  and  their 
escorts,  who  found  in  her  handsome  saloon  facilities  for  diver- 
sion that  are  not  generally  apparent  on  any  other  class  of 
vessels  than  the  palatial  packets  that  ply  between  St.  Louis 
and  New  Orleans. 

On  the  bow  of  the  '  'Future  City"  a  canvas  screen  was 
erected,  bearing  the  following  scroll : 

"Steamer  'Future  City/  built  in  1873,  W.  A.  Goll, 
master,  has  completed  ninety-five  round  trips  between  St. 
Louis  and  New  Orleans.  Average  number  of  days  to  each 
trip,  twenty-three.  Has  towed  down  stream  474  barges.  Has 
transported  down  stream  in  cargoes  446,962  tons.  Has  towed 
up-stream  491  barges.  Has  transported  in  up-stream  cargoes 
41,677  tons.  Has  traveled  239,400  miles.  If  you  tell  this  to 
Congress,  be  sure  to  add  that  with  an  improved  channel  this 
record  of  work  could  have  been  increased  forty  per  cent, 
without  any  increase  of  expense.  This  means  benefit  to  the 
producer." 

Every  one  who  read  the  statement  was  struck  with  aston- 
ishment at  the  magnitude  of  the  figures,  and  Congressional 
delegates,  whose  con>cr\  ;it ive  conduct  in  the  deliberations  of 


169 

the  Convention  was  the  subject  of  remark,  exclaimed,  "  Why, 
this  is  the  greatest  speech  that  has  been  brought  before  the 
Convention."  Between  the  statistical  information,  presented 
in  such  a  concise  form,  and  the  actual  demonstration  of  the 
barge  and  tow-boat  system,  the  last  remnant  of  prejudice  dis- 
appeared, and  they  were  won  over  by  "  moral  suasion  "to  be 
staunch  adherents  of  the  doctrines  which  they  had  thought  to 
oppose. 

At  1 :  30  p.  M.  the  last  bell  sounded,  and,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Capt.  Goll,  lines  were  cast  loose  and  the  throbbings  of 
the  giant  engines  were  perceptible  in  the  advancement  of  the 
fleet.  The  prows  of  the  boats  were  pointed  to  the  bridge, 
but  once  in  midstream  a  turn  of  the  wheel  changed  their  direc- 
tion down  stream.  A  parting  salute  was  given  from  the 
whistles,  and  the  signal  was  caught  up  along  the  line  until  the 
air  resounded  with  the  piercing  shrieks  of  a  score  of  whistles 
of  every  abominable  sound.  A  salvo  of  artillery  from  above 
the  bridge  on  the  Missouri  side  further  emphasized  the  de- 
parture, and  with  flying  colors  and  under  brilliant  auspices 
the  trip  was  undertaken. 

The  process  of  turning  the  fleet  down  stream  was  obviously 
a  cumbersome  operation,  but  once  under  headway  the  steamer 
was  run  up  to  full  speed,  and  the  boats  sped  through  their 
element  with  a  velocity  that  caused  the  foam  to  fly  from  the 
forward  barges.  The  water  front  of  the  city  sped  quickly  by,  and 
as  Carondelet  was  saluted,  dinner  was  announced,  and  a  gen- 
eral stampede  occurred  to  the  lower  decks,  where  the  edibles 
and  refreshments  were  spread  in  inviting  array,  tempting  the 
appetite  to  do  justice  to  the  viands. 

After  the  substantial  meats  had  disappeared  and  other 
auxiliaries  brought  into  view,  George  Bain  debouched  from  con- 
cealment, and,  in  his  role  of  master  of  ceremonies,  called  the 
assembly  to  a  semblance  of  order  to  hear  a  toast  from  John 
Hogan,  who  proposed  the  health  of  Mr.  McEimis,  President 
of  the  Executive  Committee. 

The  toast  was  received  with  cheers,  and  Mr.  McEnnis  was 


170 

compelled  to  respond.  He  thanked  the  gentlemen  for  their 
courtesy  and  their  kindly  co-operation  at  the  Convention,  and 
after  making  a  hasty  review  of  the  organization  of  the  Con- 
vention, he  expressed  a  hope  that  none  would  have  reason  to 
forget  the  hospitality  of  St.  Louis. 

Hon.  M.  H.  Dunnell,  of  Minnesota,  the  Chairman  of  the 
Convention,  was  next  induced  to  mount  the  rostrum. 

He  apologized  for  not  having  an  elaborate  address  to 
deliver,  but  being  called  upon  for  some  remarks,  he  would 
confine  his  attention  to  several  features  that  had  been  over- 
looked at  the  opera-house.  This  was  his  first  visit  to  St. 
Louis,  for  although  residing  within  a  comparatively  short 
distance,  and  having  many  friends  here,  it  had  never  been  his 
privilege  to  stop  in  the  city  for  any  length  of  time  sufficient  to 
admire  its  beauties  and  advantages  as  a  commercial  center. 
He  had  lived  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  for  twenty  years,  and 
had  to  regret  that  he  had  never  availed  himself  of  opportuni- 
ties to  sojourn  among  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  but  would 
return  home  firmly  impressed  with  the  kindly  reception.  He 
promised  that  on  returning  to  Congress  he  should  do  all  in 
his  power  to  recognize  the  importance  of  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  connection  with  the  growing  commerce  of  St.  Louis. 
He  paid  a  flattering  testimonial  to  the  Convention,  and  desig- 
nated the  gathering  as  one  that  would  do  honor  and  reflect 
credit  to  any  section  of  the  country.  The  members  were 
characterized  as  men  of  culture,  education  and  practical 
knowledge,  that  combined  could  only  result  in  distinguishing 
the  cities  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  as  the  foremost  in  the 
Union.  The  constant  agitation  of  river  improvements  would 
be  a  great  educator  in  cultivating  the  opinions  of  members 
from  other  sections,  and  he  stated  that  before  many  years 
every  Congressman  would  vote  for  all  the  improvements  they 
required.  He  gave  his  experience  as  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Commerce,  as  having  heard  of  barges  a  hundred 
and  a  thousand  times,  and  had  taken  action  concerning  them, 
yet  all  the  time  he  never  knew  what  a  barge  meant  until  he 


171 

put  his  foot  on  the  boat  that  day.  Hereafter  he  was  prepared 
to  vote  any  sum  of  money  for  barges,  or  any  river  improve- 
ments of  whatever  nature  or  magnitude  suggested  by  the 
Convention. 

Many  valued  citizens — citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri — 
had  almost  taken  possession  of  some  of  the  beautiful  lakes 
that  lay  without  the  confines  of  the  cities  of  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul.  During  the  summer  months  hundreds  and  thous- 
ands of  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis  visited  the  lakes  of  Minne- 
sota, and  he  assured  his  hearers,  that  at  all  times  and  upon  all 
occasions,  they  would  be  welcomed  to  the  hospitalities  of  his 
State,  and  welcome  to  the  privileges  of  its  beautiful  atmos- 
phere and  to  the  homes  of  its  people. 


SECTION  4. 


The  following  are  some  of  the  letters  received  from  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  and  which 
were  not  read  before  the  Convention  : 

DBS  MOINES,  Iowa,  October  17,  1881. 
HENRY  LOUREY,  ESQ.,  Chairman,  /St.  Louis. 

SIR:  In  acknowledging  your  invitation  to  be  present  at 
the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention  at  St.  Louis, 
on  the  25th  instant,  I  deeply  regret  that  my  engagements 
require  me  to  be  in  Washington  at  that  date.  The  movement 
commends  itself  to  my  judgment.  The  trunk  line  of  water- 
way takes  precedence  of  its  branches,  in  order  of  time  and 
improvement,  because  the  utility  of  the  latter  is  largely 
dependent  on  the  former.  This  is  to  be  done,  and  the  other 
not  left  undone.  I  hope  that  your  Convention  will  present 
for  the  consideration  of  Congress  more  facts  than  speeches, 
more  specific  engineering  plans  and  careful  estimates  than 
hallelujahs.  The  Western  representatives  will  be  greatly 
assisted  in  the  solid  work  to  be  done  by  a  plain  presentation 
of  facts  and  conscientious  figures. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  the  friend  of  your  movement,  and 
Your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  A.  KASSON, 
M.  C.,  Seventh  District,  Iowa. 

HOT  SPRINGS,  Ark.,  October  20,  1881. . 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  /Secretary,  /St.  Louis. 
DEAR  SIR:  Your  kind  invitation  of  the  13th  ultimo  found 
me  ill,  at  my  home  in  Charlotte,  Mich.,  and  a  few  days  later 
I  passed  through  your  city  en  route  for  this  place,  where  I 
have  since  remained,  your  invitation  still  unanswered,  because 
I  was  still  hoping  that  my  physician  would  consent  to  my 
leaving  here  early  enough  to  meet  with  you  on  the  26th  inst. 
But  I  am  obliged  at  last  to  decline,  owing  to  continued  ill 

(  172) 


173 

health.  I  regret  this  the  more  for  the  reason  that  I  am  very 
deeply  interested  in  this  question  of  transportation,  in  all  its 
phases,  and  could  not  willingly  absent  myself  from  a  Conven- 
tion where  the  whole  subject  is  to  be  so  thoroughly,  ably  and 
opportunely  discussed. 

Very  respectfully, 

E.  S.  LACEY. 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,  ) 
WASHINGTON,  Oct.  16th,  1881.      5 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,    Corresponding  Secretary,  Southern 

Hotel,  St.  Louis. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  postal  card  received.  I  did  not  respond 
to  your  invitation  because  I  was  waiting  to  see  if  I  could 
attend.  Now  I  find  I  will  not  be  able  to  get  away  from  here 
in  time  to  do  so,  and  I  regret  it  very  much. 

Truly  yours, 

A.  H.  GARLAND. 
United  States  Senator,  Arkansas. 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Oct.  15,  1881.  5 

GEORGE  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary  Missis- 
sippi River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
DEAR    SIR  :      Eeplying  to  your  postal  card  of  the   13th 
instant,  and  also  former  invitation  of  September  last,  I  regret 
to  say  that  official  business  will  prevent  my  attending  the  Im- 
provement Convention  on  the  26th  inst. 

Trusting  the  Convention  will  be  successful,  and  result  in 
much  good  to  the  whole  country,  I  am, 

Yours,  very  truly, 

T.  W.  FERRY. 

DETROIT,  September  21,  1881. 
HON.  GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Corresponding  Secretary  Mississippi 

River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis. 
DEAR  SIR  :     I  thank  you  for  the  invitation  of  your  com- 
mittee to  be  present  at  the  Convention  on  the  26th  prox.     It 
would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present  if  practicable,  but 
I  fear  not. 


174 

I  beg,  however,  to  assure  you,  and  the  Convention,  that  I 
shall  not  be  found  inactive  in  the  promotion  of  any  well- 
ordered  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  our  great  inland 
water-ways,  believing  that  they  should  be  developed  to  the  full 
capacity  needed,  and  that  they  may  be  depended  upon  in  com- 
petition with  our  great  railway  system,  an,dby  their  reciprocal 
action  upon  each  other  to  keep  the  rate  of  transportation  within 
easy  reach  of  the  manufacturing  and  agricultural  interests. 
I  am  your  very  obedient  servant, 

HENRY  W.  LORD. 
M.   C.,  First  District,  Michigan. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Oct.  25,  1881. 
To  the  President  of  the  River  Improvement  Convention. 

I  resort  to  telegraph,  having  misplaced  letter  for  your  sec- 
retary. Am  with  you  heart  and  soul.  Efforts  to  open  and 
improve  Western  rivers  for  free  and  consequently  cheap  trans- 
portation, are  among  the  grandest  and  most  beneficent  enter- 
prises inviting  the  present  generation  to  ask  specially  for  an 
appropriation  for  improving  the  Missouri  which  drains  the 
future  Egypt  of  the  United  States,  already  densely  peopled, 
and  laden  with  plenty.  Our  surplus  must  float  to  the  sea  upon 
our  steamers,  if  railroads  wont  carry  it  at  living  prices. 

ALVIN  SAUNDERS. 
U.  £1.  Senator,  Nebraska. 

STATE  OF  IOWA,  ^ 
EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 
DBS  MOINES,  Sept.  19,  1881.  ) 

HENRY  LOUREY,  ESQ.,  Chairman  Committee  on  Invitation, 
Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  /St.  Louis, 
Mo. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  favor  of  the  13th  inst.,  inviting  me  to  be  present  at  the 
Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  to  be  holden  at 
St.  Louis  on  October  26th  prox. 

My  views  as  to  the  much-needed  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries  are  well  known.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  I  am  in  full  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  your 
Convention. 

That  the  improvement  of  this  great  natural  highway  and 


175 

its  tributaries  is  an  immediate  necessity,  is  proven  by  the 
established  fact  that,  at  this  date,  with  the  very  limited 
improvement  which  has  been  made  in  this  system  of  waters, 
the  produce  of  the  States  lying  on  the  river  is  being  daily 
shipped  to  the  great  markets  of  the  world  on  these  streams  at 
a  less  cost  for  transportation  than  prevails  on  the  all-rail 
routes.  If  this  can  be  done  with  the  meager  improvement 
already  accomplished,  what  may  we  not  expect  when  the 
river  is  improved  on  a  broad  and  permanent  system  ? 

In  my  opinion  the  time  has  come  when  the  people  of  the 
West  should  make  common  cause  in  favor  of  this  and  kindred 
improvements,  and  unitedly  demand  of  Congress  appropria- 
tions to  improve  the  Mississippi  at  once.  The  improvement 
of  the  river  once  made,  with  artificial  water-ways  to  connect 
it  with  the  lakes  constructed,  will  insure  to  the  grain  and  pro- 
vision raisers  of  this  great  valley  the  least  possible  rate  on 
the  transportation  of  their  crops.  When  it  is  considered  that 
the  exports  of  our  agricultural  products  amount  to  more  than 
fifty  percent,  in  value  of  all  our  exports,  as  was  the  case  during 
the  year  ended  June  30,  1881,  it  is  time  for  the  people  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  who  furnish  nearly  all  of  this  great 
amount  of  produce,  to  institute  concerted  action  in  favor  of 
cheap  transportation. 

I  much  regret  that  official  engagements  will  prevent  my 
accepting  your  invitation.  In  accordance  with  your  request, 
I  have  appointed  ten  delegates,  a  list  of  whom  I  have  the 
honor  to  enclose  you  herewith. 

Earnestly  hoping  that  the  action  of  your  Convention  will 
have  effect  in  giving  tone  to  public  sentiment  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  will  best  promote  the  object  to  be  attained,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

JNO.  H.  GEAR, 
Governor  of  Iowa. 

LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  Oct.  17,  1881. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  regret  very  much  that,  as  present  advised,  I 
will  be  unable  to  attend  your  Convention.  The  objects  you 
have  in  view  have  my  hearty  approval,  and,  at  the  proper 
time,  will  receive  my  cordial  support. 

Yours  truly, 

ALBERTS.  WILLIS. 


176 

ON  BOARD  STEAMER  "  J.  M.  WHITE," 

October  21st,  1881. 
MR.  GEORGE  L.  WRIGHT,  Secretary  Mississippi  River  Im- 
provement Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo. : 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  the  pleasure  to  acknowledge  re- 
ceipt of  invitation  to  attend  the  Convention  to  assemble  in 
your  city  on  the  26th  of  this  month.  I  hoped  certainly  to  be 
present  with  you,  but  my  engagements  in  Mississippi  may 
prevent,  and  I  therefore  write  to  express  my  thanks  to  your 
committee  for  their  courtesy. 

My  interest  in  the  subject-matter  which  will  engage  the 
Convention  is  unabated,  and  I  never  gaze  on  the  great  river 
without  feeling  regret  that  the  vast  commercial  interests  which 
line  its  banks  and  tributaries  have  so  long  met  the  almost 
studied  neglect  of  the  Federal  Government.  Becoming,  as  it 
has,  the  great  water  channel,  through  which  the  immense  food 
crops  of  twenty-four  States  and  six  Territories  flow  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  it  rises  to  a  dignity  and  importance  which 
will  not  suffer  it  longer  to  be  neglected.  All  that  is  required 
is  a  perfect  union  of  all  the  interests  that  belong  to  the  river 
and  its  tributaries  ;  and  I  hope  this  Convention  may  form  this 
union,  and  present  their  claims  in  such  simple  and  direct 
manner  that  the  Federal  Congress  can  no  longer  ignore  them. 

Hoping  still  to  be  with  you,  but  fearing  I  may  not,  I  write 
these  few  lines  as  I  pass  to  Natchez,  where  I  speak  to-night. 
With  best  wishes  for  your  health  and  prosperity, 

Very  truly,  your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

CHAS.  E.  HOOKER. 


U.  S.  SENATE,  WASHINGTON,  October  17,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary,  St.  Louis. 
DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  been  away  from  home  much  of  the  fall, 
and  did  not  receive  the  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  River 
Convention  until  late.     I  should   be  very  glad  to  be  present, 
for  I  take  an  interest  in  the  movement,  but  my  engagements 
are  such  that  I  cannot  come.     I  hope  the  Convention  will  be 
all  that  its  friends  desire  and  expect. 
Yours  very  truly, 

EUGENE  HALE, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Maine. 


177 

WHEELER,  ALABAMA,  October  18,  1881. 
HON.  GEO.  L.  WRIGHT  : 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  It  affords  me  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  your  valued  favor,  extending  to  me  an  invitation 
to  be  present  at  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Con- 
vention. As  I  feel  a  great  interest  in  a  matter  which  is  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  prosperity  of  more  than  half  of 
the  United  States,  I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  will  be  unable 
to  accept  your  kind  invitation  ;  but,  I  assure  you,  I  shall  take 
great  interest  in  the  deliberation  of  a  body  of  such  distin- 
guised  and  practical  gentlemen  as  will  compose  the  Convention. 

Again  thanking  you  for  your  kind  attention,  believe  me, 
with  great  respect,  Your  friend, 

Jos.  WHEELER, 
M.  (7.,  Eighth  District,  Alabama. 

HANNIBAL,  Mo.,  October  8th,  1881. 
HENRY  LOUREY,  ESQ.,  Chairman. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your 
favor  of  13th  ult. ;  inviting  me  to  be  present  and  participate 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement 
Convention,  to  be  held  in  St.  Louis,  Oct.  26th,  1881. 

Cordially  endorsing  the  objects  and  purposes  of  the  Con- 
vention, as  set  forth  in  the  "  Official  Call,"  I  accept  your 
invitation  with  much  pleasure. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  H.  HATCH. 


CHICAGO,  October  15,  1881. 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary  Mississippi 
River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo.: 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  return  thanks  for  the  invitation  to  attend 
the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention.  It  now 
looks  very  doubtful  of  my  ability  to  be  present,  though 
should  be  pleased  to  do  so.  The  vast  importance  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Convention  will,  I  trust,  draw  out  the  wisest 
councils,  and  result  in  great  good  to  your  city  and  the  whole 
West.  With  great  respect,  I  am 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  ALDRICH. 

12 


178 

MT.  CARROLL,  ILL.,  Sept.  21,  1881. 
HENRY  LOUREY,  ESQ.,  Chairman    Committee   of  Invitation, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

GENTLEMEN;  Your  favor  of  13th  inst.,  extending  an  in- 
vitation to  be  present  at  a  Convention  to  be  held  in  your  city 
on  the  26th  prox.,  and  to  participate  in  its  deliberations,  is 
duly  received.  I  regret  that  I  have  already  engaged  to  be 
away  from  home  during  the  whole  of  the  month  of  October, 
and  shall,  therefore,  be  unable  to  attend  your  Convention.  I 
desire  to  state,  however,  at  this  time,  that  I  most  heartily  favor 
a  judicious  expenditure,  by  the  National  Government,  of  a  suf- 
ficient sum  to  properly  improve  the  great  natural  and  national 
highway.  I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  any  carefully  guarded 
expenditure  of  the  public  money,  that  has  for  its  object  the 
cheapening  of  transportation  to  the  producers  of  the  great 
Northwest.  Many  abuses  must  of  necessity  creep  into  any 
vast  system  of  internal  improvement  on  the  part  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government,  hence  every  precaution  should  be  taken, 
and  every  point  thoroughly  discussed  that  bears  upon  the  in- 
telligent and  economical  prosecution  of  the  contemplated 
work.  You  have  my  most  cordial  sympathy  and  support  in 
any  well-guarded  plan  for  the  improvement  of  our  great 
river.  With  great  respect,  I  am, 

Very  truly,  etc., 

R.  M.  A.  HAWK. 
M.   C.  Fifth  District. 

KNOXVILLE,  ILL.,  October  15,  1881. 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Corresponding  Secretary  Mississippi  River 
Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo.: 

DEAR  SIR  :  Yours  of  the  13th  duly  received  and  contents 
noted,  and  in  reply  would  say,  while  I  would  be  much  pleased 
to  be  present  on  the  26th,  my  arrangements  are  such  as  to 
make  it  impracticable. 

I  hope  the  Convention  will  be  full  and  enthusiastic.  Cheap 
transportation  is  the  one  thing  most  desirable,  at  this  time, 
to  the  producer  and  manufacturer,  and  every  possible  avenue 
leading  in  that  direction  should  be  sought  out  and  opened. 
Many  thanks  to  your  committee  for  their  kindly  offers. 

I  am,  truly  yours, 

J.  H.  LEWIS. 


179 

VALPARAISO,  IND.,  Sept.  22,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  answer  to  your  invitation  to  be  present  at 
the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  to  be  held  at 
St.  Louis,  Oct.  26,  1881,  I  will  say,  that  if  not  prevented 
by  circumstances,  not  now  existing,  I  will  be  present  on  that 
occasion.  I  am,  sir, 

Yours  truly, 

MARK  L.  DEMOTTE. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  17,  1881. 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,    ESQ.,    Secretary  Mississippi  Elver  Im- 
provement Convention ,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  : 

SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  postal,  I  have  to  inform  you  that 
I  did  not  receive  the  invitation  you  speak  of,  and  to  express 
my  regret  at  being  unable  to  be  present,  owing  to  a  press  of 
business  that  I  must  attend  to.  Thanking  you  for  your  cour- 
tesy. I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

GEO.  W.  STEELE. 


SHAWNEETOWN,  ILL.,  Oct.  15,  1881. 

MR.  GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,   Corresponding  Secretary  Mississippi 
River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Lovis,  Mo. 
DEAR  SIR  :  1  am  in  sympathy  with  any  movement  which 
has  for  its  aim  cheapening  the  means  of  transportation  of  the 
products  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  the  ocean  and  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world. 

In  proportion  as  the  cost  of  transportation  is  lessened,  the 
value  of  grain  and  other  products  in  enhanced  to  our  pro- 
ducers, and  the  material  wealth  of  this  region  is  increased. 

I  am  convinced  that  the  surest  way  to  accomplish  this  great 
object  is  by  the  improvement  of  our  navigable  water  lines  of 
transportation,  thereby  providing  a  competition  with*  the  rail- 
ways for  freights,  which  will  serve  as  an  effectual  protection 
from  extortion  by  the  legerdemain  of  railway  pools  and  com- 
binations. 

The  Mississippi  is  a  grand,  free  highway,  marked  out  by 
the  finger  of  God  for  the  commerce  of  the  West  and  South  ; 


180 

one  on  which  no  tribute  can  be  levied,  no  monopoly  can  be 
established — as  free  as  the  air  for  all. 

Without  now  consuming  time  to  assign  reasons,  I  may  say 
that  I  believe  Congress  possesses  the  power,  and  it  is  its  duty 
to  provide  reasonable  means  for  the  necessary  improvement  of 
the  Mississippi  and  its  navigable  tributaries. 

I  hope,  however,  that  the  friends  of  this  improvement 
will  place  it  upon  its  merits,  and  not  permit  the  jobbers  and 
schemers  to  couple  with  Federal  appropriations  for  this  work 
the  expenditure  of  the  people's  money  on  streams  and  objects 
not  of  a  national  character,  and  which  are  not  and  cannot  be 
made  of  value  to  the  commerce  of  the  country,  and  thereby 
prevent  many  conscientious  members  of  Congress  from  voting 
in  favor  of  the  appropriation  of  reasonable  and  necessary  sums 
for  the  systematic  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  and 
its  tributaries. 

I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend  the  Convention  on  the 
26th  inst.  Very  respectfully, 

K.  W.  TOWNSHEND, 

M.  G.  Nineteenth  District. 

BELVIDERE,  N.  J.,  Oct.  19th,  1881. 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Corresponding  Secretary,  /St.  Louis,  Mo. 
DEAR  SIR  :     I  regret  to  say  that  pressing  business  engage- 
ments will  prevent  my  attendance  at  the  River  Convention  on 
October  26th,  instant. 

I  shall  watch  its  proceedings  with  interest,  as  I  heartily 
sympathize  with  its  objects,  as  I  understand  them. 
With  thanks  for  the  invitation  to  be  present,  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

HENRY  S.  HARRIS. 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  October  16,  1881.  5 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ. 

DEAR«SIR:     I  regret  that  my  public  engagements  for! >i< I 
me  to  accept  your  kind  invitation  to  the  interesting  and  im- 
portant Convention  to  be  held  at  St.  Louis  on  the  26th. 
Very  respectfully, 

H.  B.  ANTHONY, 
United  /States  /Senator. 


181 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  October  24,  1881.  5 
MESSRS.  HENRY  LOUREY,  Chairman,  NATHAN  COLE,  CHARLES 

PARSONS,  E.  W.  GOULD  AND  FRANK  GAIENNIE,  Committee 

of  Invitation. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Please  accept  my  thanks  for  the  hoiior  of 
your  very  kind  invitation  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Conven- 
tion, to  be  held  in  the  City  of  St.  Louis  on  the  26th  day  of 
October,  1881.  I  regret  exceedingly  that  the  present  session 
of  the  Senate,  which  cannot  complete  its  labors  before  the 
25th  or  26th  inst.,  will  keep  me  here  and  prevent  my  accept- 
ance of  your  invitation  and  participation  in  your  proceedings. 
I  trust  the  Convention  will  be  harmonious  and  its  proceedings 
result  in  greatly  increasing  the  general  interest  in  and  urgent 
demand  for  the  rapid  improvement  of  our  great  river  and  its 
navigable  tributaries.  The  efforts  to  secure  the  improvement 
of  the  Mississippi  river  have,  in  the  past,  received,  and  shall 
in  the  future  receive  my  unqualified  and  hearty  approval.  I 
have  labored  most  earnestly  and  faithfully  to  secure,  by  Con- 
gressional legislation,  the  adoption  of  a  matured  plan  and  sys- 
tem for  the  correction,  permanent  location  and  deepening  of 
the  channel  of  the  river  and  the  improvement  of  its  navi- 
gability. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  28,  1879,  the  "Missis- 
sippi River  Commission' '  was  provided  ;  was  afterward 
appointed  and  has  made  its  report  to  Congress  and  submitted 
a  plan  and  system  of  works,  which  has  received  the  approval 
of  Congress  in  appropriations  of  money  to  construct  the  pro- 
posed works  according  to  the  plan. 

I  believe  the  plan  and  system  proposed  is  the  only  true 
one.  The  appropriations  already  made  are  entirely  insuffi- 
cient. It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a  sufficient  sum  of 
money  shall  be  appropriated  annually  by  Congress  to  prose- 
cute these  works  according  to  the  plan  during  the  entire  period 
of  each  year  when  work  can  be  done,  and  also  at  each  of  the 
wide  places  in  the  river,  where  the  water  is  necessarily  shallow. 

I  trust  the  Convention  may  be  able  to  excite  such  influ- 
ences as  will  convince  Congress  of  the  importance  and  neces- 
sity of  appropriating  sufficient  sums  of  money  to  secure  at  the 
very  earliest  practicable  time  the  completion  of  the  proposed 
works,  according  to  the  system  and  plan  already  adopted. 


182 

Be  assured  that,  as  in  the  past,  so  in  the  future,  I  shall  do 
all  in  my  power  to  secure  the  improvement  of  the  navigability 
of  the  Mississippi  river  and  of  all  its  navigable  tributaries, 
which,  when  done,  will  settle  the  question  of  cheap  transpor- 
tation and  forever  thereafter  regulate  all  freight  charges  and 
hold  them  down  to  the  lowest  rates. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

F.  M.  COCKRELL. 

WARREN,  PA.,  October  21,  1881. 

HON.  GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,    Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis ,  Mo. 
DEAR  SIR  :     The  invitation  to  be  present  at  your  Conven- 
vention  on  the  26th  inst.,  came  duly  to  hand.     I  regret  that 
my  engagements  are  such  as  will  prevent  my   attendance  and 
deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  of  participating  in  your  delibera- 
tions on  that  occasion. 

Yours,  truly, 

L.  F.  WATSON, 
Member  of  Congress. 

HON.  HENRY  LOUREY,  Chairman  Executive    Committee  of  the 

Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  te  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  invitation  to  attend  the  Mississippi  River 
Improvement  Convention,  to  meet  at  St.  Louis  on  the  26th 
day  of  October  (prox.),  and  to  participate  in  its  deliberations. 

It  is  to  me  a  matter  of  sincere  regret  that  engagements 
made  previous  to  the  receipt  of  your  letter  will  deny  me  the 
opportunity  to  attend  the  Convention,  and  I  beg  to  assure 
you  that  the  regret  I  feel  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  fact  that 
I  am  in  full  and  hearty  sympathy  with  what  I  understand  to 
be  the  object  and  purpose  of  the  Convention,  and  yet  debarred 
the  privilege  of  sharing  in  its  deliberations. 

I  do  not  fail  to  recognize  the  importance  of  cheap  tra im- 
portation in  its  bearing  on  all  the  industrial  pursuits  and 
interests  of  the  country,  nor  am  I  indifferent  to  the  fact  that 
cheap  transportation  can  only  be  permanently  assured  by  <-<>ni- 
petition  among  carriers,  and  that  the  most  effectual  of  all 
competition  is  that  which  is  or  may  be  established  between  our 
interior  water- wavs  and  railways. 


183 

Hoping  that  the  deliberations  of  the  Convention  may  aid 
in  the  further  development  and  material  advancement  of  the 
66  Great  Mississippi  Valley,"  upon  which  the  future  prosperity 
of  the  whole  country  so  much  depends,  and  thanking  you  and 
your  committee  for  the  invitation  to  attend  its  sittings,  I  am, 
very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  J.  FlNLEY, 

M.  C.  Second  District,  Florida. 

MANSFIELD,  Ohio,  September  27,  1881. 
HON.  HENRY  LOUREY,  Chairman,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  13th,  inviting  me  to 
attend  the  proposed  Convention  to  be  held  at  St.  Louis,  on 
the  26th  of  October,  to  advance  the  commercial,  agricultural 
and  financial  interests  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  has  been 
received.  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure  than  to 
join  in  such  a  conference,  and  contribute  in  any  way  in  my 
power  to  the  objects  proposed  by  your  Committee.  I  have 
given  the  subject  great  attention,  not  only  from  the  interest 
felt  by  my  constituents,  but  from  the  personal  examination  I 
have  been  called  upon  to  make  as  a  member  of  the  Transpor- 
tation Committee  of  the  Senate.  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  a 
concerted  movement  by  the  leading  commercial  citizens  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley  would  give  a  proper  direction  to  the 
interests  you  represent.  I  will  not,  however,  be  able  to 
attend  the  Convention,  as  the  Senate  has  a  called  session  that 
will  probably  continue  during  the  session  of  your  Convention. 
Very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  SHERMAN, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Ohio. 

MONTICELLO,  IOWA,  October  17,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  JSt.  Louis,  Mo.: 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  invitation  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  Oct. 
26th.  Please  accept  thanks  for  the  same.  My  engagements 
are  such  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  attend  ;  but  I  assure 
you  I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  the  objects  for  which  the  Con- 
vention is  called.  Please  send  me  a  copy  of  the  proceedings, 
if  they  are  published  in  pamphlet  form. 

Very  truly  yours, 

L.  S.  FAR  WELL. 


184 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  October  15,  1881.  5 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary,  St.  Louis, 
Missouri. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  received  your  invitation  to  attend  the 
Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  to  be  held  at  St. 
Louis,  October  26th.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  sub- 
jects which  will  be  before  the  Convention  for  consideration, 
but  I  regret  to  inform  you  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to 
attend  as  requested. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

BENJ.  HARRISON.      > 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  October  17,   1881.  5 

Chairman  of  Committee  of  Arrangements,  Mississippi  River 
Convention. 

SIR  :  I  regret  that  my  public  duties  will  probably  render 
it  impossible  for  me  to  be  present  at  the  Convention,  which 
meets  on  the  26th  inst.  I  appreciate  the  importance  of  the 
object  you  have  in  view,  and  shall  give  my  aid  to  whatever 
expenditure  may  be  necessary  or  useful  to  the  permanent  im- 
provement of  the  Mississippi  River  and  all  of  its  affluents. 

Should  my  engagements  permit  me  to  be  present  I  will 
notify  you  before  the  Convention  meets. 

Yours, 

WILKINSON  CALL. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  4,  1881. 
HENRY  LOUREY,  ESQ.,  and  others,  Committee  of  Invitation. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Your  letter  of  invitation  to  attend  the  Miss- 
issippi River  Improvement  Convention  at  St.  Louis,  October 
26,  1881,  was  received.  My  engagements  are  such  that  it 
will  not  be  possible  for  me  to  accept  your  courteous  invitation, 
but  allow  me  to  add,  that  I  sincerely  trust  that  this  meeting 
may  result  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  para- 
mount importance  of  developing  and  improving  this  noble 
water-way  furnished  by  nature  for  carrying  to  the  ocean  the 
marvelous  productions  of  the  central  plain  of  North  America. 
Very  truly  yours, 

W.  HUTCHINS. 


185 

MARTIXSBURG,  W.  VA.,  September  20,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  acknowledge,  with  thanks,  the  receipt  of  an 
invitation  to  attend  the  Mississippi  Kiver  Improvement  Con- 
vention, to  be  held  in  St.  Louis  on  the  26th  of  October. 

I  cannot  promise  myself,  with  any  certainty,  that  I  can 
accept  this  invitation,  as  I  do  not  know  what  my  engagements 
will  be  at  that  time.  If  in  my  power,  however,  I  shall  most 
gladly  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  learn  so  much  from 
representative  men  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  touching  the  im- 
provement of  the  great  river  and  its  tributaries,  and  the  means 
of  effecting  that  great  result. 

With  entire  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  the  Convention, 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

JOHN  BLAIR  HOGE, 
M.  C.  Second  District ,  West  Virginia. 


OSAGE,  Iowa,  October  8,  188]. 

GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary,  St.  Louis. 
DEAR  SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  13th  ultimo,  I  regret 
to  say  that  business  engagements  will  require  my  presence  in 
Iowa,  and  prevent  attendance  at  the  Mississippi  River  Im- 
provement Convention  on  the  26th  instant.  I  am  cordially  in 
sympathy  with  the  views  you  express  and  the  objects  of  the 
Convention,  and  hope  the  meeting  and  interchange  of  opinions 
will  be  productive  of  good  results. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  etc., 

N.  C.  DEERING, 
Member   Congress,  Fourth  District,  Iowa. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  22,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary  Mississippi 

River  Improvement  Convention. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  courteous  invitation  to  attend  the  Con- 
vention as  honorary  guest  is  highly  appreciated,  but  pressing 
official  duties  prevent  acceptance.  I  appreciate  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  work  you  are  engaged  in,  and  cordially 
wish  you  success.  B.  K.  BRUCE. 


186 

WASHINGTON,  ARK.,  September  28,  1881. 
MESSRS.  HENRY  LOUREY,  Chairman,  NATHAN  COLE,  CHARLES 

PARSONS,  and  others,  Committee. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Upon  my  arrival  at  home  to-day  I  find  your 
favor,  inviting  me  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the  deliber- 
ations of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention. 

I  regret  very  much  that  my  engagements  are  such  as  to 
render  it  impossible  for  me  to  be  present,  but  I  assure  you 
that  in  spirit  I  am  heart  and  soul  in  favor  of  the  great  work. 

It  is  one  of  so  much  importance  that  we  cannot  afford  to 
make  mistakes,  and  I  therefore  hope  that  the  best  talent  of 
the  country  may  be  present,  and  that  you  may  be  able  to  give 
the  cause  such  an  impetus  as  will  render  early  and  triumphant 
success  certain. 

Again  expressing  my  deep  regret  that  I  cannot  attend,  I 
am,  very  truly, 

JAMES  K.  JONES. 

MORGAN  CITY,  LA.,  Oct.  20,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Secretary  Mississippi  River  Improvement 

Convention. 

SIR  :  I  have  received  your  invitation  to  attend  the  Missis- 
sippi River  Convention,  to  be  held  in  your  city  the  26th,  and 
have  hoped  to  be  able  to  attend,  but  the  press  of  my  private 
business  will  prevent  my  doing  so. 

I  am  glad  to  see  such  a  convention  held,  and  it  can  only 
have  good  results. 

With  its  objects  I  am  in  entire  sympathy,  as  my  course  in 
Congress  in  the  past  will  show.  Regretting  my  inability  to 
attend  in  person,  I  beg  to  subscribe  myself, 

Very  respectfully,  etc., 

C.  B.  DARRELL. 

COLUMBIA,  TENN.,  October  18,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Secretary. 

SIR:  Acknowledging  receipt  of  your  invitation  "  to  be 
present  at  the  River  Convention  to  be  held  in  St.  Louis, 
October  26th,"  for  which  I  thank  you,  I  have  to  regret  that 
I  cannot  be  present,  as  I  have  cordial  sympathy  with  the  nniin 
purpose  of  the  Convention. 

1  am  respectfully  yours,  W.  C.  WHITTIIOKM:. 


187 

WASHINGTON,  October  16,  1881. 
MR.  GEO.  L.  WRIGHT  : 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  present  session  of  the  Senate  is  not  likely 
to  terminate  in  time  to  admit  of  my  attending  the  River  Con- 
vention on  the  26th  inst.  I  could  scarcely  express  with  too 
much  intensity  the  interest  I  feel  in  this  great  subject,  and  my 
hope  that  in  "the  multitude  of  counsel"  we  may  find  the  true 
solution  of  the  problem  of  the  improvement  of  this  great 
highway  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  the  security 
of  the  agricultural  interest  along  the  course  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  I  believe  that  the  Congress  is  only  waiting  for  the 
development  of  the  best  plan,  to  take  hold  of  this  work  with 
the  vigor  that  is  characteristic  of  this  age  of  our  progress. 
What  should  be  done  above  all  else  is  to  ascertain  what  is  the 
best  plan.  It  would  be  a  sad  misfortune  in  every  way  should 
we  make  any  serious  mistake  in  starting  this  work  on  a  plan 
that  would  prove  impracticable  or  seriously  defective.  In  the 
hope  that  careful  Research  and  impartial  judgment  may  control 
in  the  important  deliberations  of  the  River  Convention,  I  have 
the  honor  to  remain,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  T.  MORGAN, 
United  States  Senator  from  Alabama. 

MEMPHIS,  October  16,  1881. 
MR.  GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  Corresponding    Secretary,   St.  Z/ouis, 

Missouri. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  postal  of  inquiry,  etc.,  dated 
13th  inst.,  I  have  the  honor  to  express  my  earnest  regret  that 
other  engagements  will  prevent  my  acceptance  of  your  prized 
invitation  to  attend  the  "Mississippi  River  Improvement  Con- 
vention," to  be  assembled  in  your  great  city  on  the  26th  inst. 

There  are,  in  my  judgment,  few  questions  of  the  present 
day  so  important  to  the  interests  of  this  giant  young  nation, 
as  that  of  the  unobstructed  and  continuous  navigability  of  the 
Mississippi  river  from  St.  Paul  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  and 
the  judicious  and  early  expenditure  by  the  General  Government 
of  even  a  very  large  sum  of  money,  under  proper  safeguards, 
to  effect  this  grand  purpose,  would,  I  am  firmly  persuaded, 
prove  to  be  an  act  of  the  greatest  national  wisdom. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very,  respectfully,  your 
obedient  servant,  WM.  B.  MOORE, 

Member  of  Congress. 


188 

PHILADELPHIA,  October  18,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  St.  Louis. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your  favor, 
with  enclosure  of  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  Mississippi 
River  Improvement  Convention  (received  during  my  absence 
from  home),  I  beg  to  advise  you  that  it  will  be  impossible  for 
me  to  attend.  I  have  always  favored  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  shall  continue  to  co-operate  and  vote 
with  the  gentlemen  who  so  ably  represent  your  interests  in 
Congress.  Although  absent,  count  me  as  present  in  all  that 
may  be  calculated  to  promote  the  prosperity  and  welfare  of 
your  section  of  our  country. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  C.  HARMER,  M.  C. 


BRATTLEBORO,  VERMONT,  Oct.  17,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ. 

SIR  :  I  have  been  absent  from  home  during  the  past 
month  much  of  the  time,  and  your  card  of  invitation  was 
overlooked.  I  regret  that  my  business  engagements  will  pre- 
vent my  acceptance  of  the  invitation.  I  beg  leave  to  assure 
you  of  my  interest  in  all  that  looks  to  the  improvement  of  that 
great  water-way,  the  Mississippi  river,  and  that  I  should  have 
great  pleasure  in  attending  the  Convention,  did  my  engage- 
ments permit. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

JAMES  M.  TYLER, 
M.  C.  /Second  District. 


MOBILE,  Oct.  15,  1881. 

DEAR  SIR:  Other  engagements  will  prevent  me  from 
attending  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention  on 
the  26th  inst.  Hoping  the  Convention  may  promote  the  great 
object  in  view,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully, 

THOS.  H.  HERN  DON, 
M.  C.t  Alabama. 


189 

WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  VA.,  ) 
September  22,  1881.       5 
HON.  HENRY  LOUREY,  Chairman. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  the  invitation  from  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  'Mississippi  Kiver  Improvement 
Convention,  of  which  you  are  chairman,  to  attend  the  Conven- 
tion on  October  the  26th. 

Accept  my  thanks,  and  unless  prevented  by  a  session  of 
the  Senate,  or  some  overruling  necessity,  I  shall  certainly  be 
present.  As  your  address  states,  the  time  has  come  for  a  full 
interchange  of  opinion  on  this  great  question,  and  we  of  the 
West  and  South  must  assert  our  right  to  be  heard  and  felt  in 
the  righteous  claim  for  improvement  of  the  great  river.  Sooner 
or  later  we  will  obtain  all  we  ask. 

Truly, 

G.  D.  VEST. 


USETTS,    ) 
[EXT, 

',  1881.  > 


COMMONWEALTH  OF   MASSACHUSETTS, 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 
BOSTON,  September  17, 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Secretary  Mississippi  River  Improve- 
ment Convention,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

DEAR  SIR:  Will  you  kindly  extend  to  the  Mississippi 
River  Improvement  Convention  my  acknowledgment  of  the 
courtesy  of  an  invitation  to  participate  in  its  deliberations. 
My  engagements  will  not  permit  me  to  be  present,  but  I  de- 
sire to  express  my  interest  in  the  occasion,  and  send  to  it  my 
best  wishes. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  D.  LONG. 


BEDFORD,  MASS.,  October  20,  1881. 
GEO.  L.  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  Corresponding  Secretary,  St.  Louis. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  :  My  engagements  do  not  permit  my  attend- 
ance of  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  which 
is  to  be  held  on  the  26th  inst.  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  the 
number  of  delegates  present  will  be  large,  and  I  hope  the 
question  of  cheap  transportation,  which  is  involved  in  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi,  will  have  thorough  and 
enlightened  discussion,  and  that  the  Convention  will  be  able 


190 

to  present  such  well-considered  and  practical  plans  for  the 
improvement  of  the  river  as  will  aid  Congress,  the  majority 
of  whose  members  are  really  desirous  of  promoting  the  work. 

Yours,  truly, 

"  WM.  W.  CRAPO, 
Member  of  Congress. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  October  31,  1881. 
To  FRANK  GAIENNIE,  ESQ.  : 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Exchange  hereby  en- 
dorse the  action  of  the  River  Convention,  recently  held  at  St. 
Louis,  and  we  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  work  and  talk  in 
behalf  of  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  until  the  nation  shall  accord  it  as  the  just  due, 
not  only  of  the  Valley  States,  but  of  the  commercial  interests 
of  the  entire  country. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Exchange  are  due  to 
Mr.  Frank  Gaiennie,  of  St.  Louis,  for  his  efficient  services  in 
behalf  of  the  Convention,  and  for  his  uniform  courtesy  and 
consideration  extended  to  our  delegates- in  said  Convention 

WM.  M.  SMALL  WOOD, 
Secretary  New  Orleans  Produce  Exchange. 

PITTSBURG,  November  9,  1881. 
MERCHANTS'  EXCHANGE,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  : 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  been  instructed  to  forward  you  the 
the  following  extract  from  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  this  Association,  held  on  the  7th  inst.  On 
report  of  committee  in  attendance  at  Mississippi  River  Im- 
provement Convention,  held  at  St.  Louis,  on  26th  October, 
1881,  they  say,  and  which  was  unanimously  adopted : 

"  Your  committee  sincerely  think  that  the  thanks  of  thi.s 
"  Chamber,  and  of  all  sections  represented  in  the  Mississippi 
"  River  Improvement  Convention,  are  due  to  the  Merchants' 
"  Exchange  of  St  Louis  for  the  inauguration  of  the  same,  as 
"  well  as  for  the  promised  results  which  are  certain  to  follow, 
"  if  the  recommendations  of  the  Convention  are  properly 
"  brought  before  Congress." 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

G.  FOLLANSBEE, 

Superintendent. 


191 

The  following  interesting  letter  was  received  from  For- 
stall,  Ross  &  Clayton,  of  New  Orleans,  contractors  for  ocean 
tonnage,  in  regard  to  tonnage  from  that  city  in  connection 
with  the  shipments  from  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  Oct.  24,  1881. 

GEORGE  L.    WRIGHT,    ESQ.,   Corresponding  Secretary  Mis- 
sissippi River  Improvement  Convention,  St  Louis,  Mo.  : 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  addressing  you  on  the  subject  of  the  prob- 
able results  to  be  obtained  from  the  improvement  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  which  your  approaching  Convention  aims 
to  secure,  we  shall  refer  especially  to  the  past  and  present 
facilities  for  ocean  transportation  to  and  from  New  Orleans, 
the  causes  that  are  now  operating  against  a  greater  increase  of 
these  facilities,  and  the  certain  eifect  which  a  permanently 
navigable  channel  in  the  river  would  exercise,  in  procuring  for 
New  Orleans  a  constant  supply  of  ocean  tonnage,  equal  to  the 
utmost  requirements  of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that,  during  the  past  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  the  employment  of  steamers  in  place  of  sailing- 
ships  has  increased  at  a  marvelous  rate,  until  now  there  are 
few  trades  in  which  steam  has  not  distanced  sail,  and  every 
year  sees  fresh  encroachments  made  by  steamers  on  grounds 
that  were  recently  supposed  to  be  entirely  beyond  their 
reach. 

The  supply  of  steamers  increased  so  rapidly,  and  competi- 
tion among  them  became  so  keen,  that  the  rates  of  freight 
obtainable  were  materially  reduced,  and  every  measure  has 
been,  and  is  still  resorted  to,  in  order  to  secure  the  greatest 
possible  economy  in  working.  One  of  the  principal  means 
employed  to  this  end,  especially  in  the  Atlantic  trades,  was  the 
construction  of  steamers  of  greatly  increased  carrying  capacity, 
which  could  be  worked  at  comparatively  little  more  cost  and 
earn  much  more  mon'ev  at  less  rates  than  smaller  boats. 
Another  great  point  aimed  at  is  to  avoid  any  unnecessary  de- 
tention, and  to  have  steamers  handled  with  the  quickest  pos- 
sible dispatch  ;  to  have  cargoes  always  prepared  in  advance, 
and  to  secure  the  best  appliances  for  loading  and  discharging 
goods  with  maximum  speed  and  at  a  minimum  cost. 

Until  the  opening  of  the  South  Pass  by  Capt.  Eads,  New 
Orleans  was  almost  inaccessible  to  such  vessels,  and  her 
export  trade  was  carried  on,  we  may  say,  entirely  by  sailing- 


192 

ships.  Little  was  known  of  the  port  by  the  majority  of 
English  steamship  owners,  and  especially  by  those  on  the  east 
coast  of  England,  where  a  large  proportion  of  the  general 
trading  steamers  are  built  and  owned.  To  such  an  exent 
was  this  the  case,  that,  in  1877,  the  latest  English  Amiralty 
Charts  obtainable  in  the  East  Coast  seaports,  showed  a  depth 
of  only  eight  to  ten  feet  of  water  in  South  Pass,  and  thirteen 
to  fifteen  feet  in  Southwest  Pass. 

This,  together  with  the  very  unenviable  reputation  that 
New  Orleans  possessed  as  an  unhealthy  and  expensive  port, 
made  it  very  difficult  to  persuade  steamship  owners  to  send 
their  vessels  to  load  there,  which  was  accomplished  only  by 
merchants  guaranteeing  high  rates  and  quick  dispatch. 

The  perfectly  favorable  condition  of  the  South  Pass  for 
heavy  drafted  vessels  soon  became  known  to  owners,  how- 
ever, as  also  the  satisfactory  results  of  the  voyages  made  in 
the  season  of  '77-' 78,  and  as  it  was  expected  that  the  grain 
exports  in  '78-' 79  would  be  greater  than  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding year,  while  the  demand  of  cotton  shippers  for  steam 
room  kept  increasing,  owners  who  had  already  sent  steamers 
to  New  Orleans,  and  many  who  had  not,  made  up  their 
minds  that  they  had  struck  a  new  bonanza,  and  each  one 
determined  to  be  on  hand  when  the  cotton  shipping  season  of 
1878  commenced. 

Some  New  Orleans  firms  taking  the  same  view,  entered 
into  speculative  engagements  to  load  steamers  at  com- 
paratively high  rates  of  freight. 

As  is  too  well  known,  the  unhappy  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever  upset  all  calculations.  After  the  city  was  clear  of  the 
scourge,  cotton  came  in  but  slowly,  and  the  river  was  so 
low  that  it  was  for  a  time  utterly  impossible  to  move  grain 
down  at  all.  Owners  had,  therefore,  the  mortification  of 
seeing  their  steamers  detained  for  days,  weeks,  and,  in  some 
cases,  over  a  month,  waiting  for  cargoes  which  they  finally 
obtained  at  very  low  rates. 

They  not  only  concluded  in  consequence  that  New  Orleans 
was  not  such  a  bonanza  as  they  had  anticipated,  but  they  went 
to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  made  up  their  minds  that  it  was  a 
delusion  and  a  snare,  and  a  place  to  be  avoided  by  all  steam- 
ers, unless  provided  with  iron-clad  charters,  guaranteeing 
high  rates  of  freight,  heavy  payments  in  case  of  detention  in 
loading,  and,  in  fact,  entire  immunity  from  all  the  risks  that 
they  usually  take  from  other  seaports. 


193 

In  the  summer  of  1879,  considerable  quantities  of  grain 
were  sold  in  Europe,  for  shipment  from  New  Orleans,  in  the 
months  of  August,  September  and  October.  The  sellers,  in 
order  to  obtain  ocean  tonnage,  guaranteed  high  rates  of 
freights  and  quick  loading.  They  purchased  the  grain  in  St. 
Louis,  made  the  necessary  arrangements  to  ship  it,  so  as  to 
meet  the  steamers,  and  all  calculations  showed  a  handsome 
profit  on  the  transactions.  But  they  had  again  reckoned 
without  the  river,  which  got  so  low  that  grain  could  not  be 
moved  down  ;  while  the  steamers  were  on  hand  at  the  proper 
time,  the  cargoes  were  wanting,  and  penalties  had  to  be  paid 
both  to  the  steamship  owners,  for  failure  to  load,  and  to  the 
buyers  of  the  grain  for  failure  to  deliver. 

In  1878  the  owners  suffered  ;  in  1879  the  New  Orleans 
merchants  took  their  turn,  and  the  experiences  of  both  years 
tended  to  make  New  Orleans  anything  but  a  favorite  resort 
for  steamers.  In  fact,  the  regular  liners  running  to  Liver- 
pool, and  depending  principally  on  cotton  for  cargo,  were 
almost  the  only  steamers  that  frequented  the  port  without  a 
solid  and  certain  inducement  in  the  way  of  a  guarantee  of 
freight.  While  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  other 
Atlantic  ports  were  kept  well  supplied  with  steamers,  pre- 
pared to  take  their  chances  of  the  freight  markets  there,  New 
Orleans  could  obtain  tonnage  only  by  guaranteeing  rates  of 
freight  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  higher  than  those  current  in 
the  Northern  ports  ;  and,  although  the  expenses  of  loading 
grain  at  New  Orleans  were  then  much  less  than  in  the  North, 
even  this  was  not  considered  by  many  owners  sufficient  to 
cover  the  risk  of  sending  boats  there,  only  to  find  that  the 
cargoes  intended  for  them  were  fast  aground  six  or  seven 
hundred  miles  up  the  Mississippi.  So  strong  did  this  feeling 
become,  that  when  grain  operations  were  resumed  from  New 
Orleans  in  the  spring  of  1880,  several  exporters  got  severely 
caught  through  their  inability  to  procure  ocean  tonnage,  al- 
though they  had  the  cargoes  in  New  Orleans  ready  to  put  on 
board  steamers,  for  which  they  offered  almost  any  price,  so 
that  they  might  implement  their  shipping  contracts. 

The  summer  and  fall  of  1880  saw  the  same  state  of  affairs 
— high  prices  paid  to  secure  steamers,  and  continued  trouble  in- 
arranging  for  shipments  to  meet  them,  on  account  of  delays 
to  tows  from  a  low  stage  of  water  in  the  river. 

During  the  winter  of  1880,  large  quantities  of  iron  and 
steel  were  imported  by  New  Orleans  and  other  Gulf  ports,  on 

13 


194 

which  liberal  rates  of  freight  were  paid  outwards,  drawing 
many  steamers  towards  our  port,  prepared  to  accept  moderate 
rates  of  freight  for  return  cargoes.  Unfortunately,  the  ice 
blockade  between  St.  Louis  and  Cairo  cut  off  the  supplies  of 
grain  for  a  considerable  time,  and,  in  consequence,  many  of 
the  steamers  proceeded  to  Havana,  and  loaded  sugar  for  New 
York,  Boston,  etc.  ;  others  proceeded  to  these  ports  in  bal- 
last, and  the  balance  accepted  charters  at  low  rates  from  New 
Orleans,  rather  than  incur  the  cost  of  shifting  ports.  The 
majority  of  these  last  met  with  vexatious  and  costly  delay  in 
loading;  and  although,  when  navigation  in  the  river  was  re- 
opened, very  liberal  rates  of  freight  were  paid  for  some  little 
time,  and  a  few  owners  secured  remunerative  business,  the 
general  experience  of  last  winter  and  summer  certainly  inten- 
sified the  feeling  that  New  Orleans  is  a  most  uncertain  port 
for  steamers  to  frequent. 

Exporters  of  grain,  also,  have  found  the  business  so  diffi- 
cult to  conduct,  and  so  full  of  risk,  that  many  have  abandoned 
it  entirely,  and  firms  anxious  to  take  it  up  have  decided  to 
abstain  from  it  entirely,  until  these  obstacles  shall  be  removed. 

The  consequence  of  this  state  of  affairs  is,  that  New  Orleans 
has  regular  steam  communication  only  with  Liverpool,  Havre 
and  liremen,  the  trade  to  these  ports  being  to  a  very  great  ex- 
tent in  cotton, while  London,  Glasgow,  Antwerp,  Hamburg  and 
other  European  ports,  that  continually  receive  immense  quanti- 
ties of  Western  produce  from  New  York,  etc.,  are  accessible 
from  New  Orleans  only  at  rare  intervals,  except  to  firms  in  a 
position  to  supply  full  cargoes  of  grain,  etc.,  for  which  they 
charter  entire  vessels.  If  uninterrupted  navigation  on  the 
river  were  assured,  there  would  be  little  difficulty  in  establish- 
ing regular  steam  services  between  New  Orleans  and  the 
principal  grain  and  provision  receiving  points  in  Europe,  with 
which  we  have  now  only  spasmodic  connection  ;  but  as  long 
as  the  supplies  of  cargo  are  subject  to  being  cut  off,  as 
at  present,  we  cannot  expect  to  increase  our  means  of  com- 
munication with  these  places  to  any  great  extent. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  against  the  Jetties 
at  South  Pass,  and  it  has  been,  and  is  still,  asserted  that  heavy 
vessels  cannot  pass  through  the  channel.  We  have  loaded 
many  steamer-  in  New  Orleans,  drawing  all  the  way  from 
seventeen  to  twenty-five  feet  of  water,  and  any  that  failed  to 
go  out  without  grounding,  did  so  through  some  accident, 
or  through  defective  steering  on  the  part  of  the  pilot  or  helms- 


195 

man  ;  but  such  accidents  have  been  rare.  We  have  had  a 
steamer  drawing  twenty-two  feet  of  water  get  aground  by 
iroing  out  of  the  proper  channel,  and  a  few  hours  later,  an- 
other steamer  drawing  twenty-three  feet  of  water  keep  the 
proper  channel,  and  go  to  sea  without  touching  anything  ;  still, 
the  grounding  of  the  twenty-two-foot  steamer  was  cited  as  a 
proof  that  the  Jetties  are  a  failure  !  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we 
do  not  now  consider  a  vessel's  draft  of  water  of  any  importance 
whatever  in  engaging  cargo  or  loading  her  ;  whereas,  previous 
to  the  days  of  the  Jetties,  it  was  a  question  of  the  gravest 
importance.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  the  poorest  channel  is 
not  in  the  Jetties  proper,  but  in  South  Pass  itself,  where  no 
provision  has  been  made  for  improvements. 

Capt.  Francis,  probably  the  most  experienced  of  our 
bar  pilots,  says  that  far  from  the  South  Pass  showing  any 
signs  of  filling  up,  there  are  about  two  and  one-half  feet  more 
water  there  now  than  at  any  previous  time.  Last  spring  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  conducting  one  of  the  largest  anc]  most 
experienced  steamship  owners  in  the  world  -to  Port  Eads, 
where  he  inspected  all  the  works  and  expressed  himself  to  the 
effect  that  New  Orleans  possessed  an  entrance  to  her  harbor 
superior  in  very  many  respects  to  the  entrance  to  New  York 
harbor. 

At  the  same  time  we  would  ask  your  careful  attention  to 
the  fact,  that  all  experienced  seafaring  men  are  unanimous  in 
saying  that  an  accident  in  the  channel  of  the  South  Pass,  might 
at  any  moment  cause  the  entire  obstruction  of  navigation  for  a 
considerable  time.  The  channel  is  narrow,  the  current  is  swift, 
and  the  chances  of  collision  of  incoming  and  outgoing  vessels, 
with  each  other,  or  with  vessels  at  anchor  in  the  Pass  are  great. 
[See  evidence  in  the  collision  case  of  the  Steamship  "Al- 
tonower"  with  bark  ''Ontario,"  in  South  Pass  last  February, 
where,  by  good  fortune,  neither  vessel  was  sunk.]  Besides, 
the  single  outlet  would  probably  not  be  sufficient  to  accom- 
modate the  increased  movement  of  tonnage  that  would  follow 
any  thorough  improvement  of  the  upper  river,  and  we  think 
no  plan  of  improvement  would  be  complete  that  did  not 
include  the  deepening  of  Southwest  Pass,  and  making  it 
passable  for  vessels  of  the  heaviest  draft. 

The  cry  of  "hot  corn  by  the  river  route"  has  been 
raised  so  often,  that  it  has  become  comparatively  ineffec- 
tual in  creating  any  excitement.  Xo  doubt  some  years 
ago  large  quantities  of  corn  shipped  at  New  Orleans 


196 

did  get  heated  on  the  voyage  across  the  ocean,  und  in 
some  instances  became  quite  rotten.  But  this  corn  was 
never  in  a  condition  to  be  shipped  at  all.  Northern  exporters 
would  not  have  shipped  it  by  fast  steamers  from  New  York  to 
Liverpool,  far  less  by  sailing-ships,  or  by  steamers  that  lay  a 
week  or  two  in  New  Orleans  stowing  cotton  on  top  of  the  corn. 

In  1877  and  1878  one  firm  here  shipped  some  forty  or  fifty 
cargoes,  full  and  part,  of  corn  to  Europe,  and  did  not  have 
one  complaint  as  to  the  condition  in  which  the  grain  was 
delivered  ;  but  all  this  corn  was  thoroughly  sound  when  it  was 
shipped  at  St.  Louis,  and  was  carefully  handled  and  trans- 
ferred at  New  Orleans. 

We  handled  the  parcel  of  30,000  bushels  of  wheat  shipped 
at  St.  Paul  by  barges,  in  the  early  part  of  last  June,  destined 
for  Glasgow,  Scotland.  The  wheat  arrived  in  New  Orleans  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  same  month,  during  the  hottest  period 
of  a  very  hot  summer.  On  transferring  it  to  the  ocean  steamer, 
it  was  found  to  be  in  perfectly  good  condition,  and  was 
received  at  Glasgow  in  the  same  state,  having  stood  a  severer 
test  during  its  passage  of  2,000  miles  down  the  Mississippi, 
than  grain  would  be  subject  to  in  any  ordinary  year. 

From  all  the  information  we  have  received,  as  well  as  from 
our  own  experience,  we  know  that  any  grain  leaving  St.  Louis 
or  other  points  on  the  river,  thoroughly  sound  and  dry,  will 
take  no  harm  whatever  from  climatic  influence  in  the  transit 
to  Europe,  via  New  Orleans. 

The  barges  are  thoroughly  well  ventilated,  and  are  not,  like 
railroad  cars,  exposed  to  the  full  heat  of  the  sun,  but  are  in 
great  part  kept  cool  by  the  surrounding  water  and  ventilation 
obtained  from  the  interior  lining  or  cargo  boxes,  and  the  grain 
is  not  handled  and  rehandled,  losing  in  weight  each  time,  but 
is  generally  transferred  direct  from  the  barge  to  the  ocean 
vessel,  by  floating  elevators  fitted  with  all  the  cleansing  and 
blowing  appliances  in  use  in  Northern  ports. 

It  will  be  evident  from  the  foregoing  that  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  South  Pass,  and  the  commencement  of  the  grain 
exports  from  New  Orleans  on  an  extended  scale  by  ocean 
steamers,  there  has  been  a  series  of  obstacles,  real  and  alleged, 
to  the  development  of  the  trade,  that  have  proved  vexatious 
and  costly  to  both  shippers  and  carriers  ;  the  principal  of  these 
obstacles  have  been  caused  by  the  frequent  stoppages  to  navi- 
gation on  the  river,  through  the  want  of  an  adequate  stage 
of  water. 


197 

The  same  causes  and  effects  have  been  perceptible  in  the 
import  trade  via  New  Orleans.  Merchants  abroad  and  in  this 
country  have  not  been  disposed  to  risk  sending  valuable  goods 
by  a  route  that  held  out  no  reasonable  certainty  of  prompt 
delivery,  and  in  consequence  large  shipments  of  imported 
merchandise  come  via  New  York,  and  other  Atlantic  ports,  to 
points  in  the  West,  that  ought  naturally  to  draw  their  supplies 
via  New  Orleans. 

But  in  face  of  all  these  obstacles  and  discouraging  sur- 
roundings, let  us  look  at  the  effect  the  opening  up  of  the 
river  to  large  carrying  vessels  by  the  South  Pass  Jetties,  and 
the  extension  of  the  barge  lines  have  had  on  the  export  and 
import  trade  via  New  Orleans. 

As  you  state,  in  your  letter  of  the  13th  of  September,  to 
Mr.  Horatio  Seymour,  Jr.,  the  export  trade  in  grain  by  the 
Mississippi  route  was  merely  nominal  in  1875,  while  in  1879 
there  were  exported  6,164,838  bushels,  and  in  1880,  15,762,- 
664  bushels,  showing  an  infinitely  larger  percentage  of  yearly 
increase  than  any  other  port  in  the  United  States. 

When  vessels  were  liable  to  lie  aground  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  for  weeks  at  a  time,  until  the  action  of  the  current 
cuts  them  out,  they  were  obliged  to  charge  excessively  high 
rates  of  freight  on  everything  they  carried,  to  cover  this 
risk,  and  thirty,  thirty-five,  and  forty  cents  per  bushel  was 
paid  as  freight  on  parcels  of  grain  to  Liverpool. 

Now  that  the  risk  of  detention  from  grounding  has  been 
reduced  to  the  chances  of  an  accident  or  mistake  of  the  pilot, 
twenty  cents  per  bushel  has  come  to  be  considered  a  very 
high  rate,  and  twelve  to  fourteen  cents  may  be  looked  on  as 
a  full  average  rate,  while  grain  has  been  carried  to  Liverpool 
-as  low  as  four  and  five  cents  per  bushel. 

The  opening  of  the  Jetties  then  may  be  said  to  have  already 
effected  a  saving  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  cents  per  bushel  in 
the  cost  of  carrying  grain  from  New  Orleans  to  Liverpool,  in 
spite  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  procuring  free  supplies 
of  ocean  tonnage,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  arrival  of  cargo, 
owing  to  the  interruption  of  river  navigation,  while  the  cost 
of  carrying  cotton,  flour,  oil-cake,  and  other  goods  has  been 
reduced  to  a  similar  extent. 

While  other  seaports,  on  which  vast  sums  of  money  have 
been  lavished  to  provide  the  best  facilities  for  receiving  and 
handling  goods  of  all  kinds,  have  been  making  little  advance  in 
the  quantities  of  merchandise  that  passed  through  them, 


198 

New  Orleans,  with  her  imperfect  system  of  communication 
with  points  abroad,  and  with  her  defective  and  interrupted 
means  of  communication  with  points  in  the  interior,  has  been 
steadily  increasing  her  importance,  until  she  now  stands  very 
high  in  the  list  of  seaports  in  the  United  States. 

That  a  greatly  increased  export  and  import  movement 
would  immediately  follow  the  establishment  of  a  deep  water 
channel  in  the  Mississippi  river,  permitting  barges  to  load 
to  their  full  capacity,  and  to  make  their  trips  without  inter- 
ruption all  the  year  round,  is  very  evident. 

Owners  of  ocean  vessels  would  accept  low  rates  of  freight 
for  bringing  goods  out  to  New  Orleans,  satisfied  that  on 
arriving  there,  they  would  certainly  secure  return  cargoes- 
without  delay,  at  rates  of  freight  on  a  parity  with  those  cur- 
rent from  other  ports. 

Importers  would  order  their  goods  to  be  sent  by  the  cheap 
water  route,  confident  that  they  could  reckon  on  receiving 
them  within  a  reasonable  time. 

Exporters  would  patronize  the  route,  satisfied  that  their 
goods  would  get  through  in  less  time  than  via  the  railroads 
and  Atlantic  ports,  and  that  they  would  avoid  the  trouble  and 
annoyance  caused  by  the  breaking  of  invoice  marks  and  num- 
bers, so  often  met  with  in  shipments  by  rail  through  the 
divisions  of  trains. 

(As  an  instance  of  what  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  rapid 
transit  with  a  good  stage  of  water,  we  may  cite  a  shipment  of 
20,000  bushels  wheat,  40,000  bushels  corn,  and  2,500  sacks 
of  flour  by  Mr.  George  Bain,  of  the  Atlantic  Milling  Com- 
pany, of  "St.  Louis,  that  left  that  place  on  the  26th  day  of 
February,  1881,  by  the  Mississippi  Valley  barges,  and  was 
loaded  by  us  on  board  the  sailing-ship  Siberia,  in  New  Orleans, 
the  vessel  going  to  sea  on  the  llth  of  March,  thirteen  days 
after  her  cargo  left  St.  Louis.) 

Barges  would  be  kept  constantly  moving,  with  full  car- 
goes, both  up  and  down  stream,  and  could  afford  in  con- 
sequence to  carry  grain  and  goods  cheaper  than  they  do  now. 

The  saving  in  the  cost  of  transportation  would  enable  the 
Western  producers  to  still  better  compete  with  all  rivals  in 
foreign  markets,  the  volume  of  trade  along  the  Mississippi 
Valley  would  be  wonderfully  swelled,  new  employment 
provided  for  thousands  of  laborers,  and  the  whole  Western 
country  benefited  to  an  incalculable  degree. 

When  we  see  the  immense  expenditures  on  river  improve- 


199 

ments  and  canal  construction  undertaken  by  England, 
France,  Germany,  and  even  Holland,  it  appears  impossible,  in 
a  country  so  full  of  resources,  energy,  and  talent  as  the 
United  States,  that  the  greatest  river,  in  the  most  fertile  val- 
ley of  the  world,  should  be  allowed  to  remain  in  such  a  con- 
dition that  traffic  over  it  between  great  and  wealthy  cities,  is 
often  almost  impossible,  even  for  the  lightest-drafted  vessels. 
We  confidently  hope  that  the  efforts  of  your  Convention 
will  result  in  removing  this  reflection  on  the  enterprise, 
engineering  skill,  and  public  spirit  of  this  great  country,  and 
that  the  Mississippi  river  will  soon  be  transformed  from  an 
erratic  and  uncontrolled  stream,  into  a  new  coast  line — the 
Mediterranean  of  America — and  the  vast  extent  of  lands  now 
lying  useless  along  its  course,  be  brought  under  cultivation, 
enabling  the  great  West  to  fulfil  the  role  destined  for  her  by 
Nature,  and  making  her  in  reality  the  "Granary  of  the  World." 

Yours  truly, 

FORSTALL,  ROSS  &  CLAYTOX. 

NOTE. — An  interesting  statement  of  vessels  entered  and 
cleared  at  the  port  of  New  Orleans  from  January,  1877,  to 
December,  1880,  compiled  by  Forstall  Ross  &  Clayton,  will 
be  found  on  page  239. 


SECTION  5— PRESS  COMMENTS. 


Detroit  Free  Press,  November  2. 

The  great  Mississippi  River  Convention  was  dissolved  Octo- 
ber 28.  There  were  of  record  656  delegates  from  the  sources 
of  the  great  river  (the  object  of  discussion)  on  the  north,  to 
the  Crescent  City  on  the  south.  I  question  whether  in  its 
personnel  a  more  representative  assembly  was  before  con- 
vened in  this  country.  It  was  composed  almost  entirely  of 
men  of  gray  hairs,  yet  men  of  energy,  of  note  and  influence  in 
localities  whence  they  came,  drawn  together  for  one  purpose, 
from  which  they  would  not  be  swerved.  The  first  day  was 
consumed  before  reaching  an  organization.  The  real  work 
was  not  touched  until  Thursday,  when  the  Committee  on  Res- 
olutions reported.  There  seemed  prolixity  in  the  resolutions, 
but  most  of  the  Convention  knew  just  what  was  wanted,  and 
if  enlightenment  was  needed  by  any,  the  clear-cut  thoughts 
of  Judge  Taylor,  of  the  United  States  Commission,  based  on 
experience,  observation,  and  the  most  exhaustive  examination 
and  study  of  the  character  and  caprices  of  the  great  river, 
made  all  as  clear  as  crystal.  Therefore  the  schemes  of 
interested  localities,  though  pressed  with  the  greatest  power 
of  eloquence  and  art,  struck  like  ocean  waves  against  a  rocky, 
iron-bound  coast ;  amendments  and  additional  resolutions, 
though  ably  supported,  were  all  voted  down.  The  improve- 
ment of  the  Mississippi  was  the  one  great  thought  and  aim  ; 
all  else  was  of  little  account  until  that  important  matter  was 
settled.  Finally,  under  the  influence  of  the  previous  question, 
the  main  resolutions  were  put,  reaching  a  unanimous  affirma- 
tive conclusion  in  the  midst  of  a  storm  of  cheers  and  con- 
gratulations. The  first  object  of  the  assembly  secured,  an 
adjournment  followed  till  10  o'clock  on  Friday,  the  evening 
being  devoted  by  nearly  the  entire  delegation  to  an  entertain- 
ment furnished  by  the  merchants  of  St.  Louis  at  the  Opera- 
House,  in  listening  to  McCullough  in  his  masterpiece  of 
"Virginius."  He  was  eminently  successful,  being  inspired 
by  the  distinguished  character  of  his  audience. 

[200) 


201 

At  10  Friday  morning  the  Convention  came  together  with 
fewer  numbers,  but  no  less  enthusiasm,  and  abundant  oppor- 
tunity for  discussion.  The  resolution  ruled  out  Thursday  was 
reconsidered.  The  gist  of  it  was,  in  fact,  the  deepening  of 
the  Illinois  canal  and  river  by  the  National  Government,  so  as 
to  connect  the  waters  of  the  lakes  with  the  Mississippi  river 
by  a  channel  admitting  the  passage  of  steamers  or  barges 
from  the  inland  seas  of  the  North  to  New  Orleans,  with  the 
same  facility  as  from  St.  Louis,  thereby  securing  cheap  trans- 
portation for  the  lake  region,  and  a  great  highway  from  the 
North  to  the  extreme  South,  in  case  of  military  necessity. 
One  of  the  finest  speeches  made  on  the  resolution  was  by 
Congressman  Shallenberger,  from  Pennsylvania.  It  was  bril- 
liant in  thought  and  eloquent  in  manner.  Springer  and 
Thomas,  of  Illinois,  and  Willis,  of  Kentucky,  members  of 
Congress,  committed  themselves  to  this  resolution  by  most 
acceptable  and  enthusiastic  addresses,  as  did  numerous  other 
gentlemen  present.  As  you  may  infer,  the  resolution  was 
unanimously  passed. 

This  concluded  the  work,  but  not  the  pleasure  of  the  Con- 
-vention.  Headed  by  a  brass  band  under  the  guidance  of 
McEnnis,  President  of  the  St.  Louis  Board  of  Trade,  who  has 
been  most  untiring  in  his  devotion  to  the  comfort  and  pleasure 
of  strangers,  more  than  1,000  persons  made  their  way  to  the 
river  for  a  practical  illustration  of  river  transportation  as  ex- 
hibited in  the  make-up  of  the  barge  excursion.  There  were 
five  barges  of  a  capacity  of  60,000  bushels  each,  three  abreast 
forward,  with  two  in  the  rear,  between  which  was  the  steamer 
•"  Future  City,"  200  feet  long,  36  feet  beam,  6  feet  hold,  with 
two  engines,  28  inches  diameter  of  cylinder  by  8  feet  stroke, 
with  stern-wheel  28  feet  in  diameter,  27  feet  6  inches  length 
of  buckets,  seven  boilers,  two  flues  38  inches  diameter  by  28 
feet  length.  This  powerful  steamer  pushed  us  down  the  river 
to  Jefferson  Barracks,  twelve  miles,  passing  continuous 
evidence  the  entire  distance  of  immense  wealth  in  manufac- 
turing establishments,  in  one  hour,  and  against  a  strong  cur- 
rent on  our  return  in  two  hours  and  a  half.  More  than  an 
acre  of  surface  with  the  capacity  indicated  moved  with  such 
facility,  with  an  improved  Mississippi,  solves  the  question  of 
cheap  transportation  and  thereby  cheap  food  to  the  consumer, 
and  will  forever  hold  in  check  the  cost  of  railway  transit. 
TThe  steamer  which  moved  our  excursion  has  completed,  since 
1873,  ninety-five  round  trips  between  St.  Louis  and  New  Or- 


202 

leans  ;  has  towed  clown  stream  474  barges  ;  has  transported  ihi 
down-stream  cargoes,  446,962  tons;  up,  491  barges,  41,667 
tons;  has  traveled  239,400  miles;  average  number  of  days- 
for  each  trip,  twenty-three.  With  an  improved  channel  this- 
record  of  work  could  be  increased  40  per  cent,  without  any 
increase  of  expense.  This  means  benefit  to  the  farmer  as  well 
as  consumer.  Reduced  to  railway  capacity  the  freight  of  corn, 
in  one  of  these  barge  tows  would  require  fifty  trains  of  cars  ;: 
twenty  cars  for  each  train.  A  barge  tow  costs,  for  the  steamer, 
$75,000,  four  barges  $12,000  each,  or  with  five  in  a  tow1 
$60,000,  a  total  of  $135,000,  and  the  average  consumption  of 
coal  for  a  trip  is  25,000  bushels.  With  a  full  channel  and 
ample  freights,  four  cents  per  bushel  would  pay  a  fair  profit,, 
at  which  cargoes  are  often  made  up.  This  company  has  thir- 
teen steamers  and  100  barges  of  the  first  class,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  failure  of  crops  three-fourths  of  this  fleet  is  laid 
up  and  will  not  be  required  until  another  harvest. 

The  system  of  loading  and  transfer  is  very  simple  ancfc 
inexpensive,  the  barge  while  receiving  freight  being  moorecfc 
to  an  enormous  wharf-boat,  upon  which  teams  are  driven  with 
their  immense  loads  of  rolling  freight — grain  being  taken* 
from  elevators.  There  is  a  perfect  system  of  interior  venti- 
lation as  well  as  exterior,  which  protects  the  grain  in  transit 
from  damage  by  heating.  It  is  in  reality  a  boat  within  a  boat,, 
the  interior  boat  being  accessible  from  all  directions.  Down 
and  up  cargoes  on  deck  are  handled  with  neatness,  reaching: 
their  destination  as  clean  as  when  delivered  on  board. 

Another  important  end  is  attained  in  this  mode  of  transit.. 
Bulky  produce,  like  hay  and  straw,  which  have  heretofore- 
been  almost  impossible  of  movement  to  distant  points  or& 
account  of  cost  and  risk  of  fire,  are  now  transported  with 
profit  to  producer  and  consumer. 

Without  instructions  from  my  Governor,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  my  own  conviction,  I  have  advocated  and  voted  for 
the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  as  a  national  measure.  It 
is  beyond  the  power  of  private  enterprise  or  State  combina- 
tion, and  even  could  the  States  bordering  the  river  combine,, 
their  financial  position  would  prevent  for  a  long  period  to 
come.  The  work,  in  my  judgment,  is  as  thoroughly  national1 
a>  tin-  improvement  of  harbors  or  the  construction  of  light- 
houses. 

r>cautiful  allusion  was  made  to  the  nation's  calamity  in  the 
death  of  the  lamented  Garfield,  and  South  and  North  frater- 


203 

nizecl  with  far  more  sympathy  and  friendliness  than  in  ante- 
war  days.  The  arrangements  by  the  Board  of  Trade  were  on 
a  magnificent  scale,  costing  $25,000,  and  not  a  circumstance 
occurred  to  mar  the  harmony  of  the  proceedings. 

St.  Paul  Daily  Dispatch,  November  7,  1881 . 
J.  W.  McClung  presented  the  following  report  from  the 
delegation  which  attended  the  St.  Louis  Convention  : 

To  the  President  and  Directors  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce: 

The  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce,  through  its  commit- 
tee of  ten  on  the  Mississippi  river,  having  had  the  honor  to 
call  the  Kiver  Improvement  Convention,  which  met  at  St. 
Louis  on  the  26th  of  October,  it  seems  appropriate  that  the 
same  committee  should  make  some  report  concerning  the  suc- 
cess of  that  Convention. 

About  twenty  States  and  Territories  were  represented  by 
some  six  hundred  delegates,  including  the  State  of  Xew  York 
from  the  remote  East,  and  the  Territory  of  Xew  Mexico  from 
the  extreme  Southwest.  The  Convention  was  the  largest 
river  convention  which  has  yet  been  held,  and  was  composed 
of  more  distinguished  and  representative  men.  Minnesota 
was  represented  by  over  twenty  delegates,  and  was  honored 
by  being  tendered  the  Presidency  of  the  Convention. 

The  large  number  of  delegates  sent  from  our  city  and 
State  helped  to  swell  the  number  of  delegates  to  the  Conven- 
tion, which  made  it  the  imposing  assemblage  it  wras,  and  gave 
to  it  the  influence  and  the  power  for  good  which  will  clothe 
its  recommendations  with  the  sanction  of  public  opinion,  and 
give  to  it  its  best  passport  to  the  favor  of  Congress.  So  that, 
in  the  language  of  Col.  Taylor,  of  the  River  Commission,  in 
his  address  to  the  Convention,  "This  great  Convention  will 
be  sensibly  felt  in  the  legislation  of  Congress,  and  in  this 
great  work  of  improvement.  The  Convention  itself  speaks 
louder  than  any  words  it  can  utter.  The  presence  in  this  city 
of  this  vast  body  of  representative  men  is  the  great  moun- 
tain in  the  landscape,  which  affects  by  the  breadth  of  its  base 
and  the  sublimity  of  its  height ;  and  you  might  go  home  and 
say  nothing,  feeling  assured  that  your  presence  here  has  not 
been  in  vain.'' 

The  great  benefits  expected  to  result  from  this  Convention 
are  the  education  of  a  public  opinion  upon  the  improvement 


204 

of  our  water-ways,  and  the  creation  of  a  sentiment  among 
the  masses  of  the  people  which  will  operate  as  an  outside 
pressure  upon  Congress  which  they  cannot  resist.  Each  con- 
vention which  has  heretofore  been  held  has  proved  to  be  the 
thin  end  of  the  wedge  which  has  been  driven  home  to  the  at- 
tention of  Congress,  by  subsequent  memorials  and  subsequent 
conventions,  resulting  in  larger  appropriations  at  each  session 
of  Congress,  and  promising  soon  to  clear  a  highway  through 
the  bed  of  the  great  river  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  The 
fact  that  only  $25,000,000  have  been  appropriated  for  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  while  about  $100,000,- 
000  in  cash  and  $200,000,000  in  lauds  have  been  appro- 
priated for  the  Union  Pacific  and  other  railroads,  shows 
how  great  was  the  need  of  agitating  this  subject  among  the 
people  and  through  these  conventions  to  arouse  the  public 
sentiment  of  the  country,  and  secure  the  attention  of  our  rep- 
resentatives in  Congress. 

Congress  will  only  move  as  it  is  moved  upon.  Our 
Representatives  are  only  beginning  to  learn  that  there  is  a 
Mississippi  river.  The  appropriations  voted  for  its  improve- 
ment have  been  given  in  scanty  measures  and  in  a  grudging 
spirit,  as  presents  to  a  step-child  ;  while  more  than  double  the 
amount  has  been  voted  in  our  own  State  and  the  State  of 
Wisconsin  for  schemes  of  merely  local  importance  and  for 
canals  of  a  chimerical  character,  over  the  amounts  voted 
for  the  Upper  Mississippi  river  from  Rock  Island  to  St.  Paul. 

The  State  is  losing  over  four  millions  of  dollars  annually 
by  this  neglect  of  our  Representatives  to  understand  their 
duty  to  the  people  of  the  State. 

The  action  of  our  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  the  past  four 
years,  in  inaugurating  the  first  convention  which  recognized 
the  Upper  Mississippi  river,  and  following  up  the  work  which 
resulted  in  subsequent  conventions  which  have  been  the 
means  of  obtaining  largely  increased  appropriations,  illus- 
trates the  good  which  may  be  done  in  the  primary  assem- 
blages of  the  people  in  rousing  attention  to  this  subject,  and 
opening  the  hearts  of  our  Congressmen  and  the  purse  of  the 
nation.  It  also  indicates  the  wisdom  of  the  organization  of 
such  local  bodies  as  our  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  should 
encourage  their  organization  and  co-operation  until  this  great 
work,  now  barely  commenced,  shall  have  been  pushed  for- 
to  complete  success. 

There  are  other  Conventions  which  must  yet  be  held,  and 


205 

other  fields  yet  to  conquer,  before  Minnesota,  and  St.  Paul,, 
her  great  metropolis,  will  reap  the  full  fruits  of  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Mississippi  river.  Congress  and  the  people  of 
the  United  States  must  be  further  educated,  and  made  to- 
understand  that  this  is  not  the  small  end  of  the  river.  They 
must  be  taught  that  for  1,500  miles  northwest  there  spreads 
out  like  a  fan  a  vast  and  fertile  area  of  tillable  laud  almost 
unlimited  in  extent,  and  destined  to  be  the  granary  of  the 
continent, — the  Egypt  where  the  children  of  all  nations  are 
even  now  coming  for  corn  and  the  staff  of  life  ;  and  when 
they  have  fully  comprehended  this  idea,  they  must  be  further 
taught  that  when  millions  are  appropriated  for  the  southern 
end  of  the  river,  thousands  will  not  answer  for  the  northern 
end . 

Congratulaling  the  Chamber  upon  the  work  so  far  accom- 
plished, and  upon  the  quiet  but  efficient  part  which  we  have 
been  able  to  bear  in  it,  this  report  is  respectfully  submitted. 

J.  W.  McCLUxo, 
Chairman  Committee  on  Mississippi  River. 

Lou isville  Courier- Journal. 

The  St.  Louis  Rivet  Improvement  Convention  decides  "that 
it  is  the  manifest  and  imperative  duty  of  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  cause  to  be  made  such  improvements  of 
the  Mississippi  river  and  its  navigable  tributaries  as  shall  per- 
mane.ntly  secure  the  safe  and  easy  navigation  thereof,  thereby 
cheapening  freights,  reducing  insurance,"  etc.,  etc.  The  mode 
of  keeping  up  the  agitation  is  to  be  commended,  and  the  res- 
olutions in  their  entirety  are  good.  This  Convention  is  a 
strong  one.  It  is  composed  of  strictly  representative  men, 
who  mean  business,  and  who  are  determined  that  Congress 
shall  understand  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  forces  at  work 
in  the  great  interior  of  the  country,  which  figures  jn  such  a 
potential  manner  in  the  agricultural  products  of  the  country 
and  in  the  aggregate  exports  of  the  United  States.  The  people 
of  the  fourteen  States  and  Territories  directly  interested  in  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers  alone  num- 
ber nearly  seventeen  millions,  fully  one-third  the  population 
of  the  United  States.  The  twelve  States  interested  have 
twenty-four  Senators  and  ninety-two  Representatives  in  Con- 
gress, and  with  this  leverage  the  reasonable  demands  of  the* 
people  should  be  complied  with. 


206 

From  the  Globe-Democrat,  September  7. 

In  discussing  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river,  the 
York  Times  advances  some  singular  propositions.  It 
.admits  the  value  of  the  great  stream  as  an  outlet  for  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  but  has  serious  doubts  as  to 
whether  the  work  is  one  which  the  whole  nation  should  be 
called  upon  to  pay  for.  It  says  :  "  There  is  no  question  that 
the  Western  cities  and  States  are  entitled  to  all  the  benefits 
which  the  natural  advantages  of  their  rivers  afford.*'  This  is 
gracious.  It  might  be  inferred  that  there  was  a  serious 
proposition  advanced  to  take  some  of  these  natural  advantages 
»away.  The  Times  continues:  "  But  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  they  are  entitled  to  have  these  supplemented  by  arti- 
ficial improvements  at  the  expense,  in  a  large  part,  of  other 
sections  which  have  their  own  advantages  and  disadvantages 
to  deal  with."  Since  when  has  the  United  States  adopted  the 
policy  of  making  those  locally  benefited  improve  their  own 
rivers  and  harbors?  How  much  national  money  has  been  ex- 
pended on  the  rivers  and  harbors  of  the  Atlantic  coast  since 
the  foundation  of  the  Government?  Can  the  largest  river  in 
the  world,  draining  half  a  continent,  immediately  situated  in  the 
midst  of  the  greatest  national  production,  embracing,  with  its 
tributaries,  more  than  twenty  States  and  Territories,  be  con- 
sidered a  work  of  sectional  importance  ?  What  other  work  of 
improvement  in  this  country  could  possibly  demand  the  atten- 
tion and  aid  of  Congress  more  justly  than  this?  What  other 
work  could  possibly  possess  so  much  national  significance.? 

The  Times'  argument  is  that  the  Atlantic  coast  and  cities 
^vould  not  be,  in  any  way,  benefited  by  the  improvement  of 
the  Mississippi ;  on  the  contrary,  that  they  would  be  injured 
by  it.  Since  when  has  Congress  adopted  the  policy  that 
natural  advantages  shall  not  be  utilized  and  improved  in  one 
part  of  the  country  because  such  improvement  would  inter- 
ifere  with  localities  possessing  less  natural  advantages?  The 
Times  argues  also  that  the  Mississippi  improvement  might 
result  disadvantageously  to  some  railroad  interests.  This  is 
about  as  puerile  a  plea  as  could  be  advanced.  It  involves  the 
proposition  that  the  people  should  be  denied  the  benefit  of  a 
competition  which  would  reduce  the  general  cost  of  transpor- 
tation, for  the  sake  of  subserving  the  interests  of  a  few  cor- 
porations. If  there  is  any  one  great  responsibility  resting 
upon  the  National  Government,  it  is  to  consider  the  good  of 


207 

the  whole  people  and  to  act  for  the  common  welfare.  This 
as  the  principle  which  underlies  the  theory  of  the  river  and 
harbor  improvements.  It  was  this  which  led  to  the  donations 
of  public  land  and  credit  to  the  Pacific  and  other  railroad 
companies.  It  is  not  the  time  to  depart  from  this  principle 
just  at  the  juncture  when  the  matter  of  the  systematic  treat- 
ment of  river  navigation  in  the  heart  of  the  country  presses 
itself  upon  Congress.  The  Eas't,  having  secured  its  share  of 
national  money,  is  not  in  the  position  to  call  a  halt  in  the  gen- 
eral policy  without  shamefacedness. 

It  is  surely  not  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  fact  that  the 
-competition  of  water  routes  has  a  most  salutary  effect  upon 
the  railroad  rates  of  transportation.  This  is  the  much-used 
-argument  of  these  Eastern  journals,  among  which  the  Times 
is  chief,  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie  canal.  It  is  true  that 
they  do  not  ask  for  Congressional  aid  in  this  matter,  for  the 
canal  lies  wholly  in  the  State  of  Xew  York,  and  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent thing  from  a  national  water-course  extending  from  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  nation  to  the  southern,  and,  through 
its  tributaries,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Alleghanies. 
The  Times  sees  much  wisdom  in  the  improvement  of  Hell 
Gate  at  the  general  expense,  and  doubtless  endorses  the  im- 
portant decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  establishing  the  prin- 
ciple that  navigable  rivers  are  national  highways.  A  little 
exhibition  of  magnanimity  and  justice  in  this  particular  would 
vastly  become  the  people  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  center 
of  population  at  present  lies  west  of  Cincinnati,  and  is  rapidly 
gravitating  toward  the  Mississippi.  The  representation  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  in  Congress  is  strong  enough  to  take  care 
of  its  interests,  but  anything  like  an  organized  sectional  oppo- 
sition on  the  part  of  Eastern  members  would  be  greatly  to  be 
deplored.  The  subject  calls  for  broad  and  liberal  statesman- 
ship, and  it  ought  to  receive  it  from  all  sides. 

The  Times  mentions  other  projects  for  improved  waiter  com- 
munication, and  classes  them  with  the  Mississippi  scheme. 
One  is  the  cutting  of  a  canal  through  the  State  of  Michigan, 
from  Lake  Michigan  to  Lake  Erie  ;  another  is  the  Hennepin 
and  Illinois  River  canal,  and  still  another  is  the  enlargement  of 
the  Erie  canal.  "All  this  work,"  it  says,  "is  as  much  en- 
titled to  Government  aid  as  the  improvement  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river."  This  kind  of  talk  answers  itself.  It  loses  all 
reference  to  the  sense  of  proportion,  and  places  wholly  artifi- 
cial water-ways  on  the  same  plane  as  a  natural  one  of  great 


208 

magnitude.  It  alludes  to  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans  as  being; 
the  main  beneficiaries  from  the  proposed  improvement,  and 
endeavors  to  raise  an  issue  between  them  and  the  Eastern 
cities.  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans  certainly  will  be  benefited 
by  anything  which  adds  to  the  prosperity  of  the  twenty-five 
millions  of  people  in  this  garden  of  the  world,  but  such  a 
narrow  view  of  the  matter  is  playing  with  the  subject.  St. 
Louis  and  New  Orleans  certainly  do  not  claim  any  business 
which  must  come  to  them  at  the  expense  of  the  great  economic 
interests  of  the  country.  The  Times  represents  the  spirit 
which  would  lay  the  whole  population  under  tribute  to  support 
an  artificial  prosperity  in  New  York  City. 

The  policy  which  the  Times  advocates  is  thus  expressed  : 
"  It  will  be  easier,  more  equitable  and  more  economical  for 
each  local  jurisdiction  to  furnish  its  several  links  in  the  great 
system  of  transportation,  than  for  the  nation,  as  a  whole,  to 
undertake  at  general  expense  to  make  it  complete."  Consid- 
ering all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the  money  which 
the  Government  has  already  expended  upon  existing  improve- 
ments, this  is  an  exhibition  of  concentrated  hoggishness  which,, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  for  the  credit  of  American  citizenship,  will 
not  be  extensively  endorsed  even  in  the  East. 

8t.  Louis  Advance  (Colored). 

THE  NEGRO  AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI  IMPROVEMENT. — The 
issue  in  the  West  is  not  the  success  of  any  political  party,  but 
the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river.  The  river  is  our 
only  natural  outlet  to  the  sea.  It  is  Nature's  great  highway 
of  inter-State  commerce.  In  its  basin  live  3, 000, 000  negroes,, 
who  subsist  upon  its  products,  and  help  to  load  its  waters 
with  commerce  for  all  the  world.  Its  alluvial  plains  extend 
from  St.  Louis  to  the  Gulf.  Under  the  system  of  slave  labor 
large  plantations  upon  the  bottom  of  these  plains  were  opened 
in  the  dense  forests  which  covered  them.  Vast  tracts  of  un- 
surpassed fertility  are  yet  covered  with  cancbrakes,  cypress 
and  cottonwood.  These  bottoms  are  subject  to  inundations 
which,  while  they  bring  annual  enrichment,  destroy  the  use- 
fulness of  many  millions  of  acres  of  the  most  fertile  land  on 
the  globe.  Upon  this  land  the  colored  man  lives  in  large 
numbers,  and  he  derives  from  its  soil  the  means  of  sustenance. 
Whatever  will  increase  the  area  of  arable  and  habitable  land, 
and  make  the  commerce  of  this  stream  greater  and  more 


209 

lucrative,  is  in  a  large  and  particular  sense  the  interest  of 
nearly  3,000,000  colored  people.  We  want  to  deepen  the 
channel  and  redeem  the  swamps  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Gulf. 
The  negro  of  the  bottoms  is  interested  in  the  proposed  im- 
provement. It  means  millions  for  his  labor  and  tens  of 
millions  for  the  products  of  his  toil,  which  in  some  way  will 
return  to  the  promotion  of  his  comfort  and  prosperity.  The 
negro  must  partake  of  the  prosperity  of  the  South.  Increased 
facilities  of  commerce  means  increased  wages  for  his  labor. 
The  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  means  business  and  not 
politics.  If  the  Government  can  give  50,000,000  acres  of 
land  to  a  railroad,  on  the  proposed  line  for  which  there  is 
neither  population  nor  commerce,  it  can  more  wisely  appro- 
priate $100,000,000  to  improve  a  highway  that  would  save 
50,000,000  acres  of  land  from  annual  destruction,  arid  increase 
the  comfort  and  wealth  of  the  region  by  many  hundred  millions 
of  dollars.  The  Mississippi  drains  a  region  nearly  as  large 
as  half  of  Europe,  and  the  products  of  its  banks  are  more 
valuable  than  the  gold  and  silver  of  California  and  Nevada. 
Millions  of  colored  people  toil  upon  its  bottoms,  and  handle 
the  staples  of  commerce  upon  its  banks,  and  hence  become 
directly  interested  in  the  great  question  of  its  improvement, 
and  in  that  interest  we  shall  look  forward  with  great  expecta- 
tions to  the  coming  Convention,  which  shall  meet  in  this 
city  during  October,  for  the  improvement  of  the  mighty 
stream. 

St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch,  October  29. 
Our  Kiver  Convention  was  a  great  success.  It  was  well 
managed  throughout,  and  its  influence  will  certainly  be  felt 
when  Congress  meets.  Our  visitors  will  carry  away  pleasant 
recollections  of  St.  Louis,  and  we  have  an  idea  that  the  river 
already  begins  to  feel  better. 

St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat,  October  30,  1881. 
Gone,  but  not  forgotten — the  Kiver  Convention.  It  has 
left  behind  a  fragrant  memory  of  deeds  well  done.  Xow  for 
the  memorial  to  Congress,  which  should  fire  the  solid  shot  of 
facts  with  the  good  powder  of  argument.  The  committee 
must  not  fail  to  take  accurate  aim.  It  cannot  fail  when  aided 
by  the  telescopic  sight  of  the  125  representatives  from  the 
Valley  States. 

14 


210 

St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch,  December  15,  1SS1. 
The  memorial  prepared  by  the  committee  of  twenty-one, 
appointed  by  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention 
to  bring  the  matter  before  Congress,  is  an  able  and  wise  docu- 
ment. There  were  a  great  many  dangers  against  which  the 
memorialists  might  have  wrecked  the  whole  work  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  these  have  been  skillfully  avoided  by  the  masterly 
piloting  of  the  St.  Louis  members  of  the  committee.  The 
tendency  to  divide  the  demand  and  ask  appropriations  for  the 
Ohio  and  Missouri  was  very  strong,  and  there  were  gentlemen 
who  did  not  abandon  the  hope  of  getting  these  two  words 
into  the  memorial  at  the  last  moment.  Had  they  succeeded, 
behind  them  were  the  friends  of  the  Arkansas,  the  Red  river, 
the  Tennessee,  the  Cumberland,  and  so  on  down  in  a  dimin- 
ishing ratio,  each  ready  to  seize  any  precedent  for  including 
their  own  stream  in  the  omnibus.  The  fight  was  fought  out 
over  the  Ohio,  and  ended  there.  As  a  result  the  whole  Missis- 
sippi Valley  goes  before  Congress  united  in  one  single  simple 
demand — Mississippi  improvement.  Injudicious  friends  to 
the  great  river  are  already  demanding  many  millions  at  once 
for  improvement.  This  is  a  mistake  on  the  other  side.  "VTe 
do  not  want  twenty  millions.  What  we  do  ask  and  what  this 
memorial  very  plainly  demands  of  Congress  is  the  yearly 
appropriation  requested  by  the  Mississippi  River  Commission. 
The  matter  and  the  manner  of  improvement  are  left  in  the 
hands  of  the  experienced  and  able  engineers  selected  by  Con- 
gress itself  for  the  task,  and  the  Valley  unites  sensibly  and 
practically  upon  the  one  platform  of  giving  these  engineers 
the  money  necessary  to  do  their  work. 

St.  Louis  Republican,  October  28. 

THE  CONCLUSIONS  OF  THE  CONVENTION. — More  than  half 
the  States  and  two  of  the  Territories  of  the  Union,  represented 
in  the  Convention  in  this  city,  yesterday  declared  : 

"  That  it  is  the  manifest  and  imperative  duty  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  to  cause  to  be  made  such 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  its  navigable 
tributaries,  as  shall  permanently  secure  the  safe  and  easy 
navigation  thereof,  thereby  cheapen  freights,  reducing  insur- 
ance and  other  burdens  and  expenses  ;  promoting  the  vast 
inland  commerce  of  the  nation,  and  creating  new  avenues  of 
foreign  trade,  and  thus  not  only  inviting  increased  production 


211 

and  population,  but  assuring  greater  prosperity  to  the  whole 
people." 

This  declaration  was  emphasized  by  citing  the  pertinent 
and  important  fact  that  the  Government,  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  commerce  and  enhancing  the  public  welfare,  by  the 
construction  of  railroads,  the  property  of  individuals  and  cor- 
porations, had  granted  them  200,000,000  acres  of  the  public 
domain,  and  given  $100,000,000  out  of  the  Treasury.  While 
this  has  been  done  for  the  construction  of  artificial  highway-, 
less  than  825,000,000  had  been  bestowed  on  the  improvement 
of  more  than  15,000  miles  of  natural  water-ways.  This  mode 
of  dealing  with  this  great  and  vital  subject  is  made  to  appear 
in  a  light  strikingly  illogical,  and,  upon  any  reasonable 
ground,  indefensible. 

The  act  of  Congress  creating  a  Mississippi  River  Commis- 
sion was  strongly  commended,  and  the  course  of  that  Com- 
mission and  its  recommendations  in  pursuance  of  its  duties 
warmly  approved . 

The  Convention,  after  full  and  careful  deliberation, 
adopted  the  wise  and  significant  language  of  '« the  Mississippi 
river  and  its  navigable  tributaries,"  in  indicating  the  scope  of 
the  work  which  the  Government  is  asked  to  undertake.  The 
Republican  regards  this  as  eminently  just  and  judicious.  It 
embraces  all  that  could  be  safely  asked,  and  does  not  omit 
such  auxiliaries  as  are  essential  in  making  an  effective  struggle 
against  the  inertia  or  positive  opposition  which  has  hitherto 
thwarted  or  delayed  Congressional  action. 

The  work  of  the  Convention  has  been  well  done.  Its  pro- 
ceedings have  been  absorbingly  interesting.  There  is  not  the 
slightest  room  to  doubt  that  the  movement  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  natural  water-ways  of  the  country  has  received 
an  impetus  which,  from  this  time  forward,  will  gather  momen- 
tum till  it  will  be  found  irresistible.  The  subject  has  never 
before  been  so  brought  before  the  country  as  to  make  it  a 
present  positive  issue,  which  will  not  and  cannot  be  put  aside. 
Henceforward  this  is  the  paramount  public  consideration  with 
the  people  of  the  largest  half  of  this  Union. 

The  Nautical  Gazette,  New  York,  Nov.  5,  1881. 
The  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Convention,  which  was 
held  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Oct.  26,  27  and  28,   was  doubtless 
the  largest  and  most  influential  gathering  of  gentlemen  inter- 


212 

ested  in  water  transportation  ever  held  in  the  United  States, 
and  there  can  be  no  question  that  its  influence  will  be  felt 
throughout  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  no 
amount  of  petty  sectional  jealousy  can  belittle  its  importance. 
The  Convention  was  called  for  a  specific  purpose,  and  despite 
the  varied  interests  represented,  it  kept  to  its  work,  and  within 
the  scope  of  its  official  call,  which  was  to  devise  some  con- 
certed action  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  and  its 
natural  tributaries.  We  know  that  some  of  our  Eastern 
cotemporaries  looked  upon  this  movement  as  one  which  threat- 
ened to  absorb  all  future  appropriations  for  the  improvement 
of  channels  of  transportation  by  natural  water  conveyance  in 
the  great  West. 

We  watched  in  vain  for  an  evidence  of  sectional  feeling 
which  betokened  a  desire  on  the  part  of  Western  men  to  ex- 
clude the  East  from  the  blessings  of  Federal  aid  in  honest 
improvement  of  natural  navigable  waters  ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  was  an  unanimous  sentiment  expressed  that  for 
the  future  no  section  must  hope  for  indiscriminate  appropria- 
tions to  benefit  those  who  sought  to  enrich  themselves  on  the 
improvements  (?)  to  mill-streams,  mud-puddles,  oyster-boat 
harbors,  and  all  sorts  of  imaginary  water-courses  ;  and  to  a 
man  the  Convention  proclaimed  its  detestation  of  such  prac- 
tices as"  were  openly  urged  and  passed  at  the  last  session  of 
Congress. 

We  look  upon  the  judicious  and  thorough  improvement  of 
the  Mississippi  river  and  its  natural  tributaries  as  of  vital 
national  importance.  It  will  create  a  demand  for  tonnage, 
and  of  American  tonnage,  not  only  in  the  river  service,  but  in 
the  coastwise  trade,  and  in  the  early  future,  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence, in  tonnage  for  Transatlantic  trade. 

The  safer  the  navigation  of  these"  great  river  highways  are 
made,  the  cheaper  will  become  the  rate  of  transportation,  and 
to  a  greater  extent  will  be  the  demand  lor  tonnage  to  move  the 
necessary  products  of  that  rich  and  fertile  valley.  More 
money  will  then  be  available  for  investment  in  vessels  of  all 
classes,  and  in  doe  season  capitalists  will  see  that  in  vessel 
property  there  i>  an  excellent  investment.  We  do  not  despair 
of  seeing  Western  capital  largely  interested  in  sea-going  ton- 
.  and  at  no  distant  date.  The  Ka-t  lost  her  opportunity 
when  she  allowed  the  Atlas  line,  ami  other  foreign  lines,  to- 
secure  such  a  large  -hare  of  the  West  Indian  and  Cent  ml 
American  trade,  direct  from  American  ports,  and  no  one  can 


213 

blame  the  South  and  the  Southwest  if  .she  should  step  in  and 
secure  the  benefits  which  can  be  had  by  supplying  the  west 
coast  of  South  and  Central  America  with  her  products,  both 
of  soil  and  manufacture  ;  and,  mark  our  words,  she  will  doit 
sooner  or  later. 

The  far-seeing  men  of  the  West,  and  the  progressive  men 
of  the  South,  are  alive  to  the  importance  of  securing  this  great 
trade,  now  almost  wholly  monopolized  by  the  English  and 
Germans  ;  and  we  see  no  reason  why,  with  the  proper  business 
tact,  cheap  freights,  and  shorter  and  less  expensive  water 
routes,  that  a  golden  harvest  may  not  be  reaped  in  a  field  but 
sparsely  occupied  by  our  people.  There  need  be  no  sectional 
jealousies  in  the  development  of  such  a  grand  and  practical 
scheme,  which  in  its  results  would  be  a  national  blessing,  as 
well  as  an  enrichment  of  the  people  at  large. 

All  the  "cold  water"  thrown  upon  the  Mississippi  River 
Convention  by  a  few  Eastern  journals,  has  been  instigated  by 
the  same  influence  which  for  years  has  attempted  the  repeal  of 
our  navigation  laws,  so  that  British  ships,  under  the  Ameri- 
can flag,  might  swallow  up  American  commerce.  The  men 
of  the  West  must  learn  that  England  is  her  bitterest  foe  ;  that 
she  is  playing  quietly  a  lone  hand,  and  that  she  has  been  work- 
ing for  years  to  get  the  whip-hand  of  Americans.  It  was 
England  that  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, seeking  to  cripple  the  South  and  destroy  the  power  of 
the  North  so  that  she  might  control  the  manufactures  as  well 
as  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Her  efforts  bore  their  fruits. 
The  South  was  left  impoverished  ;the  North,  which  owned  the 
major  portion  of  the  sea-going  tonnage  of  this  countrv,  was 
crippled  ;  but  the  great  West  grew  strong,  as  she  was  the 
granary  of  the  world.  She  now  turns  her  attention  thither- 
ward, and  year  after  year  she  has  been  flooding  the  agricul- 
tural districts  of  that  section  with  her  pernicious  free-trade 
doctrines,  set  forth  in  glibly  and  insidiously-prepared  pam- 
phlets, and  has  succeeded  in  indoctrinating  leading  newspaper 
writers  into  the  teachings  of  the  Cobden  Club,  whose  emissa- 
ries— some  of  them  men  of  power  and  influence — were  on  the 
floor  of  the  St.  Louis  Convention  as  delegates  ;  but  none  of 
whom  had  the  opportunity  of  speaking  forth  their  sophistries, 
so  closely  did  the  delegates  confine  themselves  to  the  true 
purpose  of  the  call. 

The  East  has  no  reason  to  be  jealous  of  the  West  in  its 
action  at  St.  Louis  ;  and  if  our  leading  men  had  been  there,  as 


214 

the  writer  was,  and  could  have  seen  and  heard,  as  we  did,  they 
would  dismiss  this  foolish  fear  from  their  minds  and  thoughts. 
Unity,  harmony,  and  a  determination  to  ask  for  nothing  but 
what  was  honorable,  just,  and  for  the  nation's  good,  was  the 
prominent  and  universal  sentiment  expressed.  Sectarianism 
was  absent  in  all  the  resolutions,  debates  and  discussions, 
while  the  Eastern  delegates  were  as  welcome  as  if  to  the  manor 
born,  and  they  of  the  Great  Lakes  received  that  courteous, 
warm  reception  due  to  their  commanding  importance  and  close 
relationship,  and  even  those  from  distant  localities  met  with  a 
cordiality  as  honest  as  it  was  sincere.  The  Convention  was  a 
most  marked  success  in  every  particular. 


St.  Louis  Poet-Dispatch,  October  26. 

The  work  cut  out  for  the  Mississippi  River  Improvement 
Convention  is  clearly  and  unmistakably  put  in  the  call  which 
brings  the  delegates  together.  Its  mission  is  to  secure  the 
improvement  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  navigable  tributaries. 
The  day  of  Goose  Neck  run  and  Cross  Timbers  branch  has 
gone  by,  and  the  people  of  the  Valley  have  at  last  come 
together  as  a  unit  to  demand  the  real  bettering  of  the  great 
national  water-way  to  the  Gulf.  Heretofore  money  has  been 
spent  in  the  interior,  not  to  improve  the  streams,  but  to  bring 
money  into  the  country.  This  Convention  more  logically 
will  ask  Congress  for  appropriations  for  the  great  river  which 
must  float  out  the  wealth  of  the  whole  Valley.  The  money 
is  not  to  be  spent  that  Hooppole  county  or  Crackerbox  cor- 
ners may  have  plenty  of  cash,  but  that  we  may  have  a  nine- 
foot  channel  to  the  ocean.  The  late  revolution  in  the  car- 
rying trade  by  which  the  barge  system  has  restored  the 
economy  of  transportation  to  the  river  was  really  the  call  for 
this  Convention.  Practically  unaided  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, private  enterprise  has  proved  to  the  world  that  the 
Era  in  of  the  great  Mis>i>-ippi  region  can  be  sent  from  St. 
ouis  to  Liverpool  by  New  Orleans  two  cents  a  bushel  cheaper 
than  by  way  of  Ne\v  York,  despite  all  the  drawbacks  of  in- 
sufficient water  and  unimproved  navigation.  The  principle 
demonstrated  thus  finds  one  more  expre»ion  in  the  Conven- 
tion which  met  to-day.  The  body  of  gent  leinen  now  sitting 
in  the  Opera-House  represent  the  commerce  of  the  Valley, 
and  that  commerce  says  to  the  General  ( io\ crnment  :  We 
have  -hown  that  the  river  mute  already  <aves  millions  yearly 


215 

to  the  trade  of  this  country,  and  we  demand  that  this  saving 
shall  be  multiplied  and  increased  by  the  proper  improvement 
of  the  stream.  The  whole  argument  can  be  stated  thus  : 
That  the  saving  on  every  bushel  of  wheat  now  going  out  by 
the  river  route  is  two  cents  ;  with  an  improved  river  that 
saving  will  be  four  cents, — and  Congress  must  improve  the 
river. 


ECHOES  FROM  THE  CONVENTION. — The  Louisville  Courier- 
Journal,  after  quoting  from  the  Xew  York  Herald's  article 
on  the  River  Convention,  remarks  : 

4 'To  turn  that  argument  on  yourself,  we  would  ask  why 
the  merchants  and  capitalists  of  New  York  go  begging  to 
Congress  for  millions  of  dollars  to  improve  their  harbor, 
blow  up  masses  of  rock  at  Hell  Gate,  widen  and  reconstruct 
Harlem  river  and  do  numerous  other  jobs  for  the  convenience 
of  Xew  Yorkers?  The  people  of  the  West  and  South  do  not 
ask  the  Government  to  build  a  canal  to  the  Gulf.  The  high- 
way is  already  there.  It  is  the  Government's  water-way,  and 
it  needs  deepening  for  the  purpose  of  a  business  which 
embodies  four-fifths  of  our  exports.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
Government  to  repair  its  own  highway.  As  for  the  rivalry, 
the  railroads  and  canals  eastward  are  not  equal  to  the 
demands  of  shippers  ;  the  freights  are  higher  than  they  should 
be  ;  millions  can  be  saved  in  freights.  Both  the  Eastern  and 
Southern  outlet  are  needed.  There  is  abundant  business  for 
them  both.  On  seaboard  freights  the  Southern  outlet  will  be 
a  competing  route,  preventing  the  exactions  of  railroads  and 
giving  justice  to  shippers.  The  position  of  the  New  York 
Herald  is  grossly  illogical." 

The  same  paper  justly  remarks  further: 

"The  mode  of  keeping  up  the  agitation  is  to  be  com- 
mended, and  the  resolutions  in  their  entirety  are  good.  This 
Convention  is  a  strong  one.  It  is  composed  of  strictly  rep- 
resentative men,  who  mean  business,  and  who  are  determined 
that  Congress  shall  understand  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
forces  at  work  in  the  great  interior  of  the  country,  which  fig- 
ure in  such  a  potential  manner  in  the  agricultural  products 
of  the  country,  and  in  the  aggregate  exports  of  the  United 
States.  The  people  of  the  fourteen  States  and  Territories 
directly  interested  in  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  and 


216 

Missouri  rivers  alone  number  nearly  seventeen  millions,  fully 
one-third  the  population  of  the  United  States.  The  twelve 
States  interested  have  twenty-four  Senators  and  ninety-two 
Representatives  in  Congress,  and  with  this  leverage  the  rea- 
onable  demands  of  the  people  should  be  complied  with.  " 

The  Spectator,  St.  Louis,  October  7,  1881. 
The  advancement  of  St.  Louis  may  not  have  been  as  rapid 
as  some  of  her  sister  cities  moving  under  the  impulse  of  im- 
mediate advantage,  but  it  has  been  sure  and  steadfast,  and 
each  step  has  been  the  herald  of  a  grander  advance.  Fine 
churches,  commodious  hotels,  and  elegant  theatres  have 
sprung  up  like  magic  during  the  last  two  years,  and  these  are 
the  best  indications  of  a  city's  progress.  Some  people  find 
in  the  enlargement  of  our  export  trade  by  river  the  sole  reason 
for  these  results.  There  seem  to  be  reasons  to  justify,  to 
some  extent,  this  opinion.  The  investment  of  three  and  one- 
half  million  dollars  in  elevators,  and  of  three  millions  in  barge 
tonnage,  the  receipts  of  fifty-two  million  bushels  of  grain,  and 
foreign  shipments  by  river  during  1880  of  fifteen  and  a  half 
millions,  are  important  factors  in  the  development  of  the 
materials  which  characterize  the  growth  of  our  city.  That 
this  belief  has  taken  hold  of  the  people  is  evident  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  are  responding  to  the  call  for  the  coming 
river  convention.  Letters  are  pouring  in  from  men  of  high 
national  reputation  as  well  as  representatives  of  communities, 
and  all  breathe  the  same  tone — the  necessity  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  river.  The  convention  now  bids  fair  to  be  the 
largest  ever  held  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  will  be  com- 
posed of  men  of  the  highest  intelligence.  The  success  of  the 
project  will  be  largely  due  to  the  thorough  manner  in  which 
it  has  been  organized.  The  "  Official  Cull  "  was  ;i  model  doc- 
ument, and  has  attracted  the  general  notice  of  the  press.  The 
style  and  formation  of  the  letters  of  invitation  were  works  of 
art,  and  displayed  commendable  taste.  There  has  been  no 
bungling  or  mistakes.  The  whole  management  has  been 
thorough,  and  distinguished  by  the  cxer<-i>e  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  comma  in  ling  ability,  which  reflects  great  ereditupon 
the  Executive  Committee  and  upon  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  The 
Convention,  composed,  as  it  will  be,  of  the  representative 
men  of  all  the  States  in  the  Valley,  and  from  the  various 
societies  of  those  States,  will  have  necessarily  a  potent  in- 


217 

ihicnce.  Its  action  may  accomplish  the  stupendous  purpose 
of  solving  the  problem  of  cheap  transportation  for  this  in- 
terior empire,  by  improving  the  water-ways.  It  is  possible 
that  results  of  such  magnitude  may  be  accomplished  that  will 
mark  a  new  era  in  our  city's  history,  and  the  progress  which 
commerce  brings  and  the  unity  which  trade  engenders  may 
hereafter  be  measured  for  this  valley  from  the  time  of  the 
great  Convention. 

St.  Louis  Republican. 

THE  RIVER  CONVENTION. — The  difficulty  in  the  way  of  con- 
ventions hitherto  held  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  river 
improvement  has  been  the  lack  of  popular  representation,  and 
consequently  the  want  of  popular  sympathy.  The  conven- 
tions have  been  composed  of  representative  men,  to  be  sure, 
but  they  have  represented  only  immediate  transportation  and 
trade  interests.  They  have  spoken  for  the  State,  with 
always  potential  voice,  and  for  commercial  bodies  which  act 
at  great  commercial  centres. 

The  river  convention  which  will  assemble  in  this  city  on 
"the  26th  of  October  comprehends  not  only  the  line  of  repre- 
sentation heretofore  adopted,  but  makes  a  new  and  most 
important  departure.  It  has  not  only  invited  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  States,  boards  of  trade,  and  other  commercial 
bodies  largely  interested  in  the  business  of  transportation, 
but  it  has  appealed  most  successfully  to  the  larger  representa- 
tion which  lies  outside  of,  and  yet  subsidary  to  these  con- 
trolling influences. 

The  Governors  of  the  States  and  commercial  bodies  in  the 
great  valley  have  responded  with  the  usual  able  representa- 
tives, but  outside  of  and  beyond  these  there  are  the  responses 
of  nearly  four  hundred  incorporated  cities  in  the  valley,  the 
mayors  of  which  have  forwarded  the  list  of  delegates.  One 
can  comprehend  the  extent  of  these  responses  when  we  men- 
tion that  they  come  from  Wyoming  in  the  far  West,  to  South 
Carolina  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  from  Colorado  to  West  Vir- 
ginia, scarce  an  incorporated  town  of  any  magnitude  in  that 
broad  area  being  omitted. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  these  cities  and  towns  of  the 
interior  are  the  heads  of  communities  most  interested  in  the 
•question  of  cheap  transportation,  the  gathering  centres  of 
the  active  thought  that  reaches  and  swells  the  greater  cities, 


218 

and  when,  as  the  correspondence  shows,  these  cities  and 
towns  have  clothed  their  best  citizens  with  the  power  of  rep- 
resentation, we  may  well  conclude  that  the  River  Convention 
will  embody  a  power  of  representation  such  as  has  never  been 
witnessed  in  our  past  commercial  history. 

It  is  the  interior  cities  and  towns,  away  from  the  rush  of 
great  trade  activities,  that  public  sentiment  on  this,  as  upon 
all  other  great  questions,  is  created.  The  great  wealth-pro- 
ducers are  around  and  in  them,  and  their  representatives 
must  of  necessity  voice  the  wishes  and  interests  of  these  im- 
portant classes.  So  the  convention  will  be  more  largely 
popular  in  its  character.  It  will  be  more  than  ever  before 
the  people  speaking  for  themselves  and  for  their  immediate 
interests,  and  the  expression  of  their  desires  will  reach  with 
more  effect  the  ears  of  their  servants  in  Congress  and  the  Leg- 
islatures. 

It  is  pleasant  to  record,  and  creditable  to  all  those  con- 
nected with  the  important  movement,  to  say  that  in  every 
step  taken  thus  far  it  has  been  handled  with  great  judgment, 
and  that  the  preliminary  arrangements  have  been  wisely 
planned. 

President  McEnnis,  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange,  and 
who  is  also  President  of  the  Executive  Committee,  has  been 
unwearied  in  efforts  to  make  the  Convention  a  success.  He 
has  shown  from  the  beginning  a  soundness  of  wisdom  and 
judgment  and  liberality  of  views  in  administration  which  will 
largely  account  for  the  glowing  promises  of  success.  His 
aim  from  the  beginning  has  been  to  make  the  Convention 
reach  the  great  end  proposed  as  a  commercial  movement,  and 
redounding  to  the  honor  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis  and  the 
State  of  Missouri.  He  has  been  ably  seconded  by  the 
Executive  Committee  and  the  efficient  secretaries,  and  there 
can  be  no  question  that  the  Eiver  Convention  will  be  a  great 
success. 

_V.  0.  Picayune,  October  18,  1881. 
How  SIIAI.I.  WE   ACCOMPLISH   OUR   PURPOSE. — The   New 
York   Times  thinks  that    there  is  no  question  that  Western 
cities  ami  States   "arc   entitled   to  all   the  benefit  which   the 
natural    advantages  of  the    rivers  afford,"   but    assumes  that 
it  may  be    (jiieM  ioned    whether   those   cities    and    States    an 
entitled    to    have    "their    natural     advantages"     "supple- 
mented by   artificial   improvements  at   the    expense,   in   large- 


219 

part,  of  other  sections  which  have  their  own  advantages- 
and  disadvantages  to  deal  with."  The  Times,  no  doubt,  pos- 
sesses sufficient  logical  acumen  to  enable  it  to  see  that  its- 
position  does  away  with  the  whole  question  of  internal  im- 
provements. It  will  scarcely  undertake  to  say  that  any  city 
whatever  is  not  "entitled  to  the  benefits  which  the  natural 
advantages"  of  its  situation  afford.  It  will  not  assert  that 
any  measure  of  internal  improvement  under  Government  aus- 
pices can  be  carried  out  except  "  at  the  expense,  in  large  part, 
of  other  sections  which  have  their  own  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages to  deal  with."  But  it  will  not  have  the  candor  to 
state  these  conclusions  from  its  cwn  logic,  because  it  will  not 
have  the  audacity  to  proclaim  in  New  York's  face  that  New 
York's  "  Hell  Gate  "  is  not  entitled  to  ''artificial  improve- 
ments at  the  expense,  in  large  part,  of  other  sections." 

The  original  estimate  for  the  reefs  at  Hell  Gate,  and  Dia- 
mond and  Coenties  reefs  was  $5,189,120.  Gen.  John  New- 
ton's report  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1869,  stated 
the  amount  expended  at  $1,621,699.99,  the  amount  expended 
during  that  year  at  $198,577,  and  the  amount  estimated  to, 
complete  "the  existing  project"  at  $3,213,278.55.  How' 
much  has  been  expended  since,  we  do  not  know,  but  it  is  a 
large  sum.  That  it  has  been  well  expended  is  certain.  Gen. 
Newton  is  one  of  our  best  engineers,  and  the  improvements 
are  necessary,  and  ought  to  be  completed.  Neither  do  we 
know  how  much  New  York  needs  for  the  improvement  of 
Harlem  river  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  creek,  also  requisite  for  the 
advancement  of  the  commercial  well-being  of  our  greatest 
entrepot.  New  York  State  had  received  for  the  improvement 
of  rivers  and  harbors  from  the  General  Government  during- 
the  years  1789-1878  no  less  a  sum  than  $8,355,716,  while 
Louisiana  had  received  $2,855,190.  AVe  do  not  think  that 
New  York  has  received  too  much  ;  but  if  the  New  York  Times 
is  correct,  New  York's  commercial  interests  have  been  sub- 
served at  the  expense,  in  a  great  part,  of  other  sections. 

If  the  theory  of  internal  improvements  at  national  charge- 
were  new  :  if  it  were  a  question  of  establishing  principles 
upon  which  to  conduct  the  Government,  there  would  be  a 
greater  show  of  reason  in  the  position  of  the  Times.  But  the 
principle  has  been  settled  by  use,  and  the  practice  of  the- 
country  has  become  fixed.  It  is  not  a  question  of  the  propriety 
of  the  Government  undertaking  internal  improvements  at 
the  public  expense,  but  merely  a  question  of  distribution  of  the- 


220 

money  that  can  be  reasonably  spared  from  the  Treasury  for 
such  purposes.  And  right  here  the  meanness  of  the  Times 
creeps  out.  Having  obtained  a  very  large  disproportion  of 
established  facts,  its  left  hand  is  behind  its  back  open  to  receive 
the  next  appropriation  for  New  York,  and  its  right  hand  is 
gesticulating  to  the  West  in  opposition  to  any  Western  demand 
for  "  artificial  improvements  at  the  expense,  in  large  part,  of 
other  sections." 

The  theory  of  internal  improvements  having  been  made  a 
part  of  our  governmental  system,  the  question  of  distribution 
naturally  falls  into  the  very  simple  category  of  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number.  The  improvement  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  is  of  interest  to  one-half  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try, and  appeals  for  aid  with  greater  force  than  a  lake  harbor 
which  subserves  the  wants  of  a  single  county.  The  Missis- 
sippi river  and  its  tributaries  have  not  received  relatively  so 
large  a  proportion  of  public  aid  as  the  Atlantic  coast.  If  this 
partiality  is  corrected,  by  giving  to  the  Mississippi  what  is 
needed  to  make  it  the  great  thoroughfare  of  the  nations,  the 
Times  sees  that  New  York  will  suffer. 

If  we  reflect  a  moment  on  the  greatness  of  the  undertak- 
ing, we  shall  not  fail  to  see  that  an  appropriation  adequate 
to  the  worth  and  want  of  the  Valley  can  scarcely  be  had  at  the 
hands  of  Congress.  We  must  begin.  We  must  content  our- 
selves with  beginning.  We  must  begin  somewhere.  And  we 
cannot  begin  at  the  headwaters,  because  they  are  too  widely 
dispersed  to  permit  of  concentration,  and  we  would  probably 
not  get  a  dollar.  We  therefore  should  begin  at  the  chief  con- 
courses and  join  in  the  defense  of  the  greatest  volumes,  which 
bear  the  largest  shipping,  and  serve  the  whole  of  the  territory. 

It  is  on  this  principle  that  the  appropriation  for  the  Jetties 
was  obtained.  That  so  vast  a  navigation  should  have  no  exit 
to  the  ocean,  that  the  commerce  of  the  earth  should  have  no 
inlet  to  the  half  of  our  country,  was  seen  to  be  an  evil  con- 
cerning so  many  of  our  people  that  the  obviation  of  it  almost 
a  — iinird  a  national  aspect.  The  purchase  of  Louisiana  was 
because  Jefferson  saw  the  impropriety  of  leaving  the  entrance 
to  our  interior  navigation  in  foreign  power.  But  if  the 
entrance  be  choked  up,  what  matter  what  power  holds  it?  And 
if  the  channel  l>c  shoaled  till  it  is  worthless,  what  difference 
dues  it  make  whether  there  is  a  mouth  or  not?  The  argu- 
ment !>cir:ui  at  the  mouth,  but.  it  ascends  the  river. 

It  would  be  well  to  postpone  minor  schemes  of  improve- 


221 

ment,  and  ask  Congress  to  give  us  a  reasonable  channel  as  fat- 
as  seems  reasonable,  say  at  first  from  the  mouth  to  Cairo.  If 
the  entire  West  would  forego  its  respective  local  wants,  and 
unite  in  favor  of  its  one  general  want,  the  end  would  be  gained. 
There  is  no  part  of  the  West,  not  even  the  remote  wheat 
fields  of  Nebraska  or  Dakota,  which  will  not  at  once  feel  the 
weight  of  the  want  of  a  channel  in  the  Mississippi  river,  if  that 
river  is  closed  against  it.  Take  away  from  the  trnsportation 
problem  the  constant  pressure  of  river  competition,  and  you 
know  the  consequences.  Open  the  river  to  its  fullest  capacity, 
and  the  farmers  of  the  West  can  see  the  result.  The  railroads 
carry  water  on  their  shoulders, — water  in  the  shape  of  bonds, 
stocks,  etc., — and  they  don't  need  the  water  in  the  river.  But 
the  farmers  need  water  under  the  keels  of  commerce. 

From  the  Davenport  Gazette. 

At  a  meeting  of  citizens  of  Davenport  to  hear  the  report 
of  the  delegates  to  the  Convention,  Mr.  Russell  offered  the 
following  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting,  representing  the  citizens  of 
Davenport,  desires  to  express  its  great  satisfaction  at  the 
results  reached  by  the  River  Improvement  Convention  at  St. 
Louis,  and  its  hearty  approval  of  the  resolutions  adopted  by 
that  body. 

Resolved,  That  we  pledge  an  earnest  and  unremitting  sup- 
port to  all  efforts  f)f  the  Executive  Committee  appointed  by 
said  Convention  to  press  upon  Congress  at  its  next  session 
and  thereafter,  the  necessity  for  continuous  and  liberal  appro- 
priations for  the  prosecution  of  the  work  of  internal  improve- 
ments commended  in  the  resolution  of  the  Convention 
approved  by  this  meeting. 


SECTION  6. 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES. 


ARKANSAS. 


A\'.  1 1.  Fulton,  Little  Rock. 
K.  I 'riteliard,  Little  Rock. 
Logan  H.  Roots,  Little  R«.rk. 
Win.  M.  Finback,  Fort  Smith. 
C.  V.  Buckley,  Fort  Smith. 
H.  M.  Grant.  Helena. 
G.  AY.  Brown,  Camden. 
Jno.  E.  Bennett,  Helena. 
AV.  V.  Johnson.  I lelena. 
I'.  F.  Son-ells.  Wanvn. 


I).  W.  Fellows,  AVarren. 

J.  F.  Robinson,  Arkansas  City. 

Albert  Smith,  Batesville. 
II.  Glitsch,  Eureka  Springs. 
J.  A.  Xewinan,  Eureka  Springs. 
Thomas  Hardeman.  Pocahontas. 
AAr.  B.  Moore,  Fayetteville. 
J.  V.  Walker.  FaVdirville. 
J.  B.  Trullock,  Pine  Bluff. 


R.  F.  Pettigrew. 


ALABAKA. 

Dr.  Thomas  B.  Taylor,  Montgomery. 

COLORADO. 
L.  E.  Sherman,  Colorado 
DAKOTA. 

P.  Doiiau. 


Edward  Rutz,  Springfield. 
J.  C.  Willis,  Metropolis 
W.  <).  To\\]«-.  Mi-trnpolN. 
II.  Fullerton,  Havana. 
Lewis  Ihorn,  Ilarrisouvillc. 
J.  P.  M.  Howurd.  Kth'ngham. 
AV.  II.  Barlow.  Kningham. 
R.  A.  AVilbank^.  Mt.  V<-n.on. 
Oeo.  H.  Varnell.  Mt.  Vcrnoii. 
A.  G.  Henrjr,  Greenville, 
w.  B,  Smith, 


Geo.  A.  Boyle,  Alton. 

.1.  W.  Koppin-'cr.  Alton. 
II.  (i.  M.  I'ike,  Alton. 
K.  M.  West,  Kdwardsvill.'. 
J.  Gillcspie,  Edwai-d-villr. 
A.  K.-lIi-r.  Kd\\anl>ville. 
•  I.  W.  on.  Virdcii. 
II.    \V.  Harris<.n.  Jl.-Ilcvill. 
Samuel  S.  I'a^e.  Peoria. 
Chas.  D.  Clark,  Peoria. 
P.  D.  Cheny,  Jerseyville. 


(222) 


223 


ILLINOIS— Continued. 


T.  M.  Rogers,  nuin.-y. 
Win.  P.  Halliday,  Cairo. 
C.  F.  Nellie,  Cairo. 
Chas.  T.  Ware.  East  St.  Louis. 
J.  H.  McCormiek,  Peoria. 
Win.  L.  Huse,  Peoria. 
John  T.  McBride.  Chester. 
C.  C.  Williams,  Chester. 
C.  H.  Seybt.  Highland. 
C.  M.  Wheeler.  Kaskaskia. 
J.  G.  Btircli.  Kaskaskia. 
C.  A.  Roberts,  Pekin. 

E.  F.  Urlaiiil.  Pekin. 
J.  Rickert,  Waterloo. 
H.  O.  Billings.  Alton. 

L.  C.  AVashburn.  Jerseyville. 

J.  Fouke,  Yandalia. 

R.  T.  Higgins,  Vaudalia. 

F.  M.  Eckard,  Yandalia. 
E.  S.  Stoke,  Centralia. 
H.  G.  Weber,  Belleville. 
E.  B.  Buck,  Charleston. 

J.  R.  Cunningham,  Charleston. 
Chas  A.  Walker,  Carlinville. 
John  I.  Rinaker,  Carlinville. 
Walter  S.  Dray,  Havana. 
Samuel  Bibens.  Havana. 
Anson  Low.  Havana. 
X.  B.  Thistlewood,  - 
"W.  T.  Doudall,  Peoria. 
H.  W.  Cleudin.  Springfield. 
AV.  AV.  AVallace,  Xewton. 
Robt.  W.  Rees.  Vandalia. 
W.  Y.  AVetzell.  Fulton, 
(r.  A  lIiMiry.  Louisville. 
R.  J.  Barnes.  Louisville. 
Daniel  Berry,  Carmi. 
J.  A.  Benner,  Alton. 


AV.  L.  Huse.  Peru. 

Geo.  AV.  Cox.  Yirdiii. 

H.  8.  AV.-lton.  Springfield. 

J.  J.  McLean.  East  St.  Louis. 

D.  Perri'ne.  Xewton. 

F.  J.  Fo.-t«-r.  Carmi. 

B.  L.  Patrick,  Carmi. 
J.  M.  Crebs,  Carmi. 

J.  AV.  Springer,  Jacksonville. 
J.  F.  AVebb,  Lebanon. 
H.  Leiter.  Lebanon. 
H.  II.  Horner,  Lebanon. 
S.  P.  Tufts,  Centralia. 
AV.  B.  Grimsley.  Springfield. 
AV.  C.  Bennett.  Moline. 
S.  H.  Yelie.  Moline. 
Jas.  H.  Livingston,  Alton. 
R.  H.  Davis.  Carrollton. 
Orman  Pierson,  Carrolltou. 
J.  Decker,  Collins ville. 
Jno.  Higley,  Collins  ville. 
J.  G.  Gerding,  Collins  ville. 
AV.  11.  Bush,  Peoria. 
Samuel  AAllkinson,  Peoria. 

G.  O.  AA'ebster.  Salem. 
H.  C.  Fellman.  Salem. 
.1.  S.  Martin,  Salem. 
AA'.  H.  Allen.  Grafton. 

C.  P.  Stafford.  Grafton. 
L.  AVarnock.  Columbia. 
Jno.  T.  Augerer.  Columbia. 

D.  H.  Harez.  Lincoln. 

R.  J.  Hornsby.  Bunker  Hill. 

H.  X.  Belt.  Bunker  Hill. 

J.  B.  Bowman.  East  St.  Louis. 

Thos.  C.  Jennings.  East  St.  Louis. 

A.  II.  Gambrill.  Alton. 

J.  B.  Fahs.  Olnev. 


<>l "INCY    BOARD  OF   TRADE. 

D.  D.  Meriam.  Quincy.  H.  R.  AAliitmore,  Quiiicy. 

Robt.  E.  Coxe.  Quincy. 


224 


INDIANA. 


Argoa  Dean.  Otto. 
Alfred  Moore,  Sr..  Huntington. 
M.  M.  Hurley.  New  Albany. 
Jno.  S.  Hopkins.  Evansville. 
G.  V.  Menzies.  Mount  Vernou. 
.1.  M.  Reynolds.  Lafayette. 
A.  D.  Straight,  Indianapolis. 
Josiah  Grim.  New  Albany. 
•R.  S.  Taylor,  Fort  Wayne. 
C.  A.  Zollinger,  Fort  Wayne. 
M.  J.  Hamilton,  Fort  Way  in.'. 
A.  C.  Troutman,  Fort  Wayne. 
Cha-.  F.  Muhler,  Fort  Wayne. 
J.  J.  Swuzich.  Evansville. 


Chas.  T.  Hinde,  Evansville. 
A.  J.  Branch.  Evansville. 
John  Gilbert.  Evansville. 
J.  A.  Lemeke.  Evansville. 
.Fno.  W.  IJin^hani.  Evansville 
Win.  Rahm.  .1  r..  Kvansville. 
J.  A.  For^ytlu'.  Seymour. 
W.  C.  Fahivr.  .Mount  Yernon. 
A.  Colemau,  Logansport. 
J.  W.  Talbott.  Logansport. 
Jno.  W.  Grubb,  Richmond.. 
L.  R.  Wolcott,  Mitchell. 
W.  E.  Gibson,  Aurora. 
E.  D.  Langton.  Aurora. 


INDIANAPOLIS    BOARD   OF   TRADE. 

D.  Blackmore,  Indianapolis.  Jno.  M.  Shaw.  Indianapolis. 


IOWA. 


Robert  Donahue,  Burlington. 
John  Thompson,  Dubuque. 
George  H.  French, 'Davenport. 
Geo.  W.  Jones,  Dubuque. 
N.  C.  Ridenour.  Clarimla. 
E.  H.  Thayer,  Clinton. 
J.  K.  Graves,  Dubuque. 
Win.  Vandever,  Dubuque. 
J.  H.  Murphy,  Davenport. 
Kd ward  Russell,  Davenport. 
P.  G.  Ballingall,  Ottmmva. 
Win.  L.  Joy,  Sioux  City. 
R.  B.  Tomlinson,  Cedar  Ra]»ids. 
H.  Schierholz,  Lansing. 
Robt.  Htifschmidt,  Lansing. 
II.  II.  HfiiHMiway.   Landing. 
.(.  w.  Tii. ,iu:^.  Lansing. 
C.  <  .  II.MTi.-k.  Cherokee. 
Robert  Buchanan,  Cherokee. 
C.  F.  Myers,  Rockford. 
R.  C.  Math.-w-. 
A.  C.  Roberts,  Fort 


C.  M.  Primeau.  Fort  Madison. 

J.  P.  Patrick.  McGregor. 
G.  S.  C.  Scott.  McGregor. 
Win.  Butler,  Clarinda. 
W.  E.  Webster,  Clarinda. 
E.  Van  Houten,  Pella. 
S.  A.  Marine.  Vinton. 
J.  Ila.ircman.  Keokuk. 
.1.  II.  <  'raig.  Keokuk. 
L.  Bentl.-y.  Malv«-rn. 
Thos.  Gernett,  Mendon. 
S.  Casaday,  Des  Moinrs. 
H.  C.  Colver,  Des  Moim-s. 
L.  Mott,  Des  Moinrs. 

B.  A.  Lock\vood.  !)«•>  Moiin-x. 
J.  J.  Town.  I>cs  Moiiif<. 

E.  C.  Le:lrh.  Do  M<.in.-. 

C.  II.  T..1I.  Clinton, 

J.  II.  Flint.  Clinton. 

W.  F.  Coan,  Clinton. 

E.  H.Odell,  Connril  Kluff-. 


r.t'KUMiTON  BOAKD  o:    TRADE. 
AN".  ^V.  Baldwin.  JJuiTmirton.  J.  C.  Osgood, 


225 


KAXSA>. 


J.  P.  Root.  Wyamlotte. 

C.  M.  Keller.  Wichita. 

D.  G.  Stockwell.  Atchison. 
J.  M.  Smith.  Atchisou. 

J.  II.  Bonsall.  Arkansas  City. 
W.  II.  Caldwell,  Beloit. 
Alfred  Taylor.  Gardner. 
A.  D.  Brown.  Gardner. 
David  Grimes.  Burlington. 
A.  B.  Jetmore.  Topeka. 


F.  P.  Baker.  Topeka. 
A.  L.  House.  Topeka. 
A.  B.  Lemon.  Xewton. 
J.  G.  Stonecker.  Topeka. 
Dr.  Cornell.  Wyandotte. 
V.  J.  Lane,  Wyandotte. 
X.  A.  Ocheltree,  Olathe. 
H.  A.  Taylor.  Olathe. 
S.  Guerrier.  Emporia. 


KENTUCKY. 


Frank  Troutman.  Eminence. 
Eugene  Underwood.  Louisville. 
W.  W.  Hite.  Louisville. 
Lucian  Anderson.  Mayfteld. 
B.  C.  Levi.  Louisville. 


Jno.  A.  Robertson.  Bowling  Green. 
S.  W.  Combs,  Bowling  Green. 
E.  Farly.  Padueali. 
J.  C.  Cobb.  Paducah. 
J.  H.  Fowler,  Padueali. 


Thomas  Jame£.  Xatioual  Board  of  Steam  Navigation,  Louisville. 

LOUISVILLE   BOARD   OF   TRADE. 

Chris.  Busche.  Louisville.  Frank  Carter.  Louisville. 

H.  Verhoeff,  Jr..  Louisville.  t  C.  B.  Robinton,  Louisville. 

Jos.  O'Connor,  Louisville.  "W.  B.  Gray.  Louisville. 


LOUISIANA. 


Duncan  F.  Kenner.  Xew  Orleans. 
Dr.  J.  B.  "Wilkinson.  Plaquemine. 
Capt.  Dick  Sinnett.  Xew  Orleans. 
Capt.  Richard  Frances.  Port  Eads. 
Capt.  John  Roy.  Xew  Orleans. 
Capt.  B.  D.  Wood.  Xew  Orleans. 
Capt.  Thos.  B.  Leathers,  Xew  Or- 
leans. 

Capt.  Jas.  T.  O.  Pry.  Xew  Orleans. 
Capt.  A.  Q.  Kennett,  Xew  Orleans. 
Jas.  Lingan.  Xew  Orleans. 

NEW  ORLEANS  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE. 

E.  K.  Converse,  Xew  Orleans.  Thos.  A.  Clayton.  Xew  Orleans. 

Geo.  E.  Si-ai--.  Xew  Orleans.  Ex-Gov.  John  McEnery.  Xew  Or- 

Geo.  Maxent.  Xe\v  Orleans.  leans. 

J.  M.  Frowenfeld.  Xew  Orleans.  S.  P.  Hill,  Xew  Orleans. 

C.  F.  Dillmgham,  Xew  Orleans. 

NEW  ORLEANS  COTTON  EXCHANGE. 

A.  J.  Gomila,  Xew  Orleans.  A.  A.  Lelong.  Xew  Orleans. 


Wright  Schaumburg.  Xew  Orleans. 

Oscar  J.  Forstall.  Xew  Orleans. 

G.  L.  Hall.  Xew  Orleans. 

Geo.  Foster.  Xew  Orleans. 

A.  Currie.  Cotton  Exchange, 
Shreveport. 

J.  M.  Dowling.  Steamboat  Asso- 
ciation. Xew  Orleans. 

C.  J.  Barrow.  Xew  Orleans. 

H.  C.  Brown,  Baton  Rouge. 


15 


226 


NENV    OULKAXS   CHAMBER  OF   COMMERCE. 

F.  J.  Odendahl.  Xew  Orleans.  W.  H.  Bell,  Xew  Orleans.. 

s.  A.  Trufaut.  XL-W  Orleans.  J.  D.  Pelt.  Xew  Orleans. 

M.  F.  Pinckard,  Xew  Orleans. 


MISSISSIPPI. 


H.  F.  Siinrall,  Vicksburg. 
S.  H.  Parisot,  Vicksburg. 


C.  E.  Webb,  Vicksburg. 
Green  Clay.  Boliver  Landing. 


MISSOURI. 


J.  F.  Philips,  Sedalia. 
James  R.  Shields,  Carthage. 
A.  H.  Livington,West  Plains. 
H.  H.  Mitchell,  Bolivar. 
C.  B.  McAfee,  Springfield. 
James  R.  Milner,  Springfield . 
J.  H.  Turner,  Carrollton. 
W.  H.  Phelps,  Carthage. 
Win.  S.  Jewett,  Crystal  City. 
Mepher  Huy,  Crystal  City. 
K.  Coates,  Kansas  City. 
C.  W.  Baker,  Mexico. 
A.  E.  Simpson,  M.  D.,  Charleston. 
C.  R.  Combs,  Memphis 
W.  Dan  Fowler,  Memphis. 
Geo.  Myers,  Glenwood. 
H.  H.  Harding,  Cartilage. 
Firmin  A.  Rozier,  St.  Genevieve. 
John  L.  Bogy,  Ste.  Genevieve. 
Charles  C.  Rozier,  Mayor  City  of 

Ste.  Genevieve. 

(iuMavus  St.  Gem,  Ste.  Genevieve. 
O.  Koshtit/ky.  New  Madrid. 
Dr.  M.  <;.  Hatrhrr.  \r\v  Madrid, 
lion.  Wm.  Daw-on.  Xew    Madrid. 
Geo.  B.  Clark.  ( 'ape  Girardeau. 
M.  A.  CillMM-t.  8t6.  Mary. 
Louis  S.-haff.  Bte.  Mary. 
J.  II.  Mor--.  J.-t'f'T-i.n  county. 
J.  H.  Wheelm-.  Si.-.-lville. 

<  ».  T.  [TOM,  K'olla. 
L.I.  Matthews.  Carthage. 
K.  K.  Lewis,  lhmt-ville. 
L.  E.  Cooley.  Si.  Charl.--. 
A.  F.  Jones,  Mary  vi lie. 


J.  W.  Chambers.  Maryville. 

S.  Harris.  Cape  Girardeau. 

G.  C.  Thilenius,   Cape  Girardeau. 

A.  B.  Carroll,  Cape  Girardeau. 

M.  A.  Bierwirth,  Cape  Girardeau. 

Win.  Warner,  Cape  Girardeau. 

Wm.  V.  Leech,  Cape  Girardeau. 

W.  Speed  Stephens,  Boonville. 

John  Porter,  Boonville. 

John  Doniphau,  St.  Joseph. 

James  E.  Payne,  Independence. 

Alexander  Graydon,  Carthage. 

Waddy  Thompson,  Warrensburg. 

O.  P.  Davis,  Seliegman. 

H.  Eshbaugh,  Hanover. 

J.  W.  Bouhvare.  Fulton. 

J.  B.  Suell,  Fulton. 

Geo.  Hubbard,  Fulton. 

Charles  T.  D.  Eitzen,  Hermann.. 

TliM-.  J.  Johnston,  Hermann. 

R.  Q,  Roarlic.  California. 

Jno.  E.  Pearson.  <  California. 

J.'P.  H.  Gray.  California. 

D.  C.  Basey,  Brunswick. 

Ma<-k  .1.  LeaniiniT.  Jefferson  City  • 

.1.  II.  NN'au^'h.  ( 'olnmbia. 
O.  Gentae,  Columhia. 
Kidiard  (Jcntry.  <  '"luinhia. 
C.  H.  Hardin.  Mexico. 
John  F.  Kncker,  Sturgeon. 
S.  I»liillip>.  Mexico.. 
John  I-'.  William.-.  Macmi. 
F.  B.  Kercheval.  St.  Joseph. 
Martin  J.  Ilubbl.-.  Marshtield. 
W.   K.  ^aiiniel.  Randolph  Co. 


227 


M I -SOURI— Continued. 


J.  Finer.  St.  Joseph. 
J.  W.  Ringo,  St.  Joseph. 

E.  Wagner.  St.  Joseph. 
R.  Womark,  St.  Joseph. 

F.  B.  Thompson.  St.  Joseph. 
S.  Geiger.  St.  Joseph. 

A.  Geiger,  St.  Joseph. 

A.  Saltzman.  St.  Joseph. 

E.  J.  Crowther.  St.  Joseph. 

M.  J.  McCabe.  St.  Joseph. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Stringfellow,  Buchanan 

County. 

E.  W.  Price.  Brunswick. 
W.  H.  Lusk.  Jefferson  City. 
Wm.  W.  Wagner.  Jefferson  City. 
W.  H.  Lee,  Warrensburg. 

C.  H.  Miller,  Jefferson  City. 
Jno.  A.  Collins,  Washington. 
H.  Wellenkamp,  Washington. 
Anton  Renter.  Washington. 
J.  T.  Childs.  Richmond. 

Jos.  Hughes,  Richmond. 
Hermann  Ferguson,  Steelville. 

G.  F.  Rothwell,  Moberly. 
J.  J.  Russell,  Charleston. 
Jos.;M.  Lowe.  Pittsburgh. 
Jos.  H.  Birch.  Pittsburgh. 
J.  P.  Xorvell,  Richmond. 

D.  A.  Ball.  Louisiana. 

T.  J.  C.  Fogg,  Louisiana. 

H.  C.  St.  Clair,  Independence. 


J.  H.  Decker,  Hannibal. 

D.  M.  Delany.  Hannibal. 
W.  A.  Jacobs,  Chillicothe. 

C.  H.  Mansur.  Cbillicothe. 

E.  D.  Graham.  Mexico. 
P.  W.  Harding.  Mexico. 
R.  E.  Lawder,  Mexico. 
Win.  Pollock,  Mexico. 
H.  A.  Rickets,  Mexico. 

J.  Schirmer,  Jefferson  City. 
Robt.  M.  White,  Mexico. 
T.  M.  Gill.  Mexico. 
J.  McD.  Trimble,  Mexico. 
G.  A.  Burkhardt,  California. 
J.  H.  Burkholder,  Moberly.   ' 
A.  W.  Lamb,  Hannibal. 
Thos.  E.  Day.  Mexico. 
J.  B.  Forbis,  Jr.,  Independence. 
Theodore  Bruere,  St.  Charles. 
W.  A.  Alexander,  St.  Charles. 
A.  H.  Stonebraker,  St.  Charles. 
E.  G.  Lunceford,  Bolivar. 
Charles  Rosenbaum,  Fayette. 

D.  S.  Thomas,  Carthage. 
Champ  Clark,  Bowling  Green. 
Henry  McPherson,  Boonville. 
Jonas  Clark,  Carthage. 

J.  W.  Wingo,  Salem. 
John  R.  Reddick,  Salem. 
Kossuth  X.  Webber,  Farmington. 
J.  S.  Rollins.  Columbia. 


ST.  LOUIS  MERCHANTS*  EXCHANGE. 


E.  O.  Stauard.  St.  Louis. 
Julius  S.  Walsh.  St.  Louis. 
Gerard  B.  Allen,  St.  Louis. 
Xathan  Cole,  St.  Louis. 
Frank  Gaiennie.  St.  Louis.  J 
George  L.  [Wright,  St.  Louis. 
L'has.  F.  Ortlnvein,  St.  Louis. 
E.  W.  Gould.  St.  Louis. 
M.  McEnnis.  St.  Louis. 
H.  Lourey,  St.  Louis. 
P.  D.  Rowland,  St.  Louis. 
Way  man    Crow,  St.  Louis. 


Marcus  Bernheimer,  St.Louis. 
G.  H.  Shields,  St.  Louis. 
A.  Krieckhaus,  St.  Louis. 
James  E.  Yeatman.  St.  Louis. 
Robert  B.  Brown,  St.  Louis. 
Thos.  C.  Reynolds,  St.  Louis. 
Louis  Fusx.  Sr.  Louis. 
John  Wahl,  St.  Louis. 
J.  G.  Baker,  St.    Louis. 
Web.  M.  Samuel,  St.  Louis. 
Wm.  J.  Lemp,  St.  Louis. 
E.  F.  Huppe,  St.  Louis. 


228 


ST.  LOUIS  MERCHANTS'  EXCHANGE— Continued. 

George  Bain,  St.  Louis.  Alex.  Cochran,  St.  Louis. 

G.  A.  Madill,  St.  Louis.  A.  T.  Harlow,  St.  Louis. 

J.  O'Xeil,  St.  Louis.  Henry  C.  Haarstirk,  St.  Louis. 

K.  P.  Tansey,  St.  Louis.  Charles  Parsons,  St.  Louis. 

J.  T.  Davis,  St.  Louis.  John  Jackson,  St.  Louis. 

W.  H.  Scudder,  St.  Louis.  S.  M.  Breekenrid^e.  St.  Louis. 

J.  31.  Noble,  St.  Louis.  Henry  Hitchcock.  St.  Louis. 

Conrad  Fath,  St.  Louis.  E.  B.  Kirby,  St.  Louts. 

D.  P.  Dyer,  St.  Louis.  John  31.  Gilkeson,  St.  Louis. 

A.  H.  Smith,  St.  Louis.  Miles  Sells.  St.  Louis. 
Erastus  Wells,  St.  Louis.  C.  E.  Slayback.  St.  Louis. 

B.  W.  Lewis,  St.  Lewis.  Jerome  Hill,   St.  Louis. 
George  Partridge,  St.  Louis.  Given  Campbell,  St.  Louis. 
Win.  L.  Ewing,  St.  Louis.  Waldo  P.  Johnson,  St.  Louis. 
JohnHogan,  St.  Louis.  A.  W.  Slayback.  St.  Louis. 
Pierre  Chouteau,  St.  Louis.  .  John  R.  Shipley.  St.  Louis. 

ST.    LOUIS  COTTON   EXCHANGE. 

Theo.  G.  3Ieier,  St.  Louis.  James  L.  Sloss.  St.  Louis. 

A.  W.  3Iitchell,  St.  Louis.  W.  C.  Madeira.  St.  Louis. 

W.  31.  Senter,  St.  Louis.  J.  W.  Paramore.  St.  Louis. 

ST.    LOUIS   WOOL   DEALERS*    ASSOCIATION. 

J.  C.  Love,  St.  Louis.  W.  F.  Warner.  St.  Louis. 

SEDALIA  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

A.  A.  Jaynes,  Sedalia.  Jno.  T.  Heard.  Sedalia. 
F.  Houston,  Sedalia. 

KANSAS  CITY  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

W.  H.  Miller,  Kansas  City.  E.  H.  Allen,  Kansas  City. 

R.  T.  Van  Horn,  Kansas  City.  T.  B.  Bullnx-,  Kaii>a-  City. 

ST.  JOSEPH  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

H.  R.  W.  Hartwig,  St.  Joseph.  Gen.  James  Craig,  St.  Joseph. 

Col.  Jno.  Doniphan,  St.  Joseph.  Abe  Furst.  St.  .Joseph. 

MINNESOTA. 

W.  B.  Lutz,  Lake  City.  F.  A.  Fogg,  St.  Paul. 

J.  O.  Simmons,  Little  FalN.  T.  B.  Casey.  Minneapolis 

Platt  B.  Walker,  Minneapolis.  R.  C.  I.envitt.  Mimn-apnli.-. 

Fred.  Driscoll,  St.  Paul.  V.  (J.  llu-h.  Minm-i.j.olis. 

M.  G.  Norton.   Wiriona.  Mark  II.  I>uniicll.  <>\\  atonna. 

K.  L.  liak.-r.  ]{.-d  \Ving.  F.  31.  Thornton.  li.-n-on. 
E.  W.  Dura  nt.  Still  water. 


229 

MINNEAPOLIS  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

C.  C.  Sturtpvam.  Minneapolis.  Col.  G.  F.  Brott,  Minneapolis. 

O.  C.  Merrimon.  Minneapolis.  Col.  R.  H.  Benton.  Minneapolis. 

>T.  PAUL  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE. 

R.  Blakely.  St.  Paul.  Edmund  Rice.  St.  Paul. 

Win.  Leip.  St.  Paul.  J.  W.  McClimg,  St.  Paul. 

[.  W.  Ingersoll.  St.  Paul.  G.  W.  Walsh,  St.  Paul. 
W.  F.  Davidson.  St.  Paul. 

WINONA  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

Wm.  F.  Phelps.  Secretary.  H.  C.  Bolcom. 

MICHIGAN. 

A.  Sessions,  Ionia.  Philo  Parsons,  Detroit. 

NEBRASKA. 

R.  B.JWindham.  Plattsmouth.  C.  H.  Rickards.  Falls  City. 

J.  Carson.  Brownville.  W.  W.  Hackney.  Brownville. 

C.  C.  Housel.  Omaha.  Henry  Sheldon.  Nebraska  City. 

Victor  Vikjuain.  Lincoln.  Champion  S.  Chase,  Omaha. 

O.  P.  Mason.  Lincoln.  H.  G.  Clark.  Omaha. 

H.  T.  Clark.  Bellevue.  S.  J.  Faris.  Nebraska  City. 

J.  Sterling  Morton.  Nebraska  City.  J.  E.  LaMaster.  Nebraska  City. 
Frank  Martin.  Falls  City. 

NEW  YORK. 

B.  S.  Osborne.  Secretary  National  A.  H.  Dugan.  National  Board  of 
Board  of  Steam  Navigation.  New  Steam  Navigation,  New  York. 
York. 

NEW  MEXICO. 
P.  J.  Kennedy. 

OHIO. 

John  A.  Townley.  Cincinnati.  John  Newton,  Marietta. 

CINCINNATI   BOARD   OF   TRADE. 

S.  F.  Covington.  Cincinnati.  J.  G.  Stove.  Cincinnati. 

W.  L.  Perkins.  Cincinnati.  S.  F.  Dana,  Cincinnati. 

Jos.  Hargravi'.  Cincinnati.  Jos.  A.  Scarlett,  Cincinnati. 
W.  W.  Peabody.  Cincinnati. 

CINCINNATI    CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE. 

E.  C.  Goshorn.  Cincinnati.  J.  J.  Raipe.  Cincinnati. 

Paris  C.  Brown.  Cincinnati.  Jas.  K.  Morrison.  Cincinnati. 

G.  W.  Neare.  Cincinnati. 


230 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Capt.  R.  C.  Gray.  Pittsburg.  Capt.  John  A.  Wood.  Pittsburg. 

Hon.  G.  H.  Anderson,  Pittsburg.  Charles  Meyran,  I'ittsburg. 

Jas.  G.  Siebeneck,  Pittsburg.  P.  C.  Knox.  Pittsburgh. 

Capt.  J.  T.  Stockdale,  Pittsburg.  J.  H.Dunlap.  Pittsbnru. 

Hon.  H.  S.  Shallenberger,  Roches'r  John  A.  Kej's.  Pittsburg. 

TENNESSEE. 

Edward  S.  Jones,  Nashville.  W.  CTNiel  Perkins.  Franklin. 

H.  T.  Ellett,  Memphis.  J.  B.  Heiskell.  Memphis. 

R.  J.  Morgan.  Meniphi-.  S.  H.  Shock.  Memphis. 
Smith  Parks.  Newburn. 

TEXAS. 

T.  T.  Gammage,  Palestine.  Geo.  A.  Wright.  Palestine. 

W.  H.  Flippen,  Dallas.  Thos.  F.  McEnnis.  I  >allas. 

WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Alexander  Campbell,  Bethany.  F.  O.  Hearne.  Wheeling. 

John  A.  Gibney.  Wheeling.  John  W.  Good.  Wheeling. 

D.  R.  Wolfe,  Wheeling. 

WISCONSIN. 

K.  Mariner.  Milwaukee.  J.  R.  Berry  man.  Prairie  Du  Chieiv 

H.  J.  Rogers,  Appleton.  J.  H.  Foster.  Oshkosh. 

Charle<  K.  Mi-ar-.  Oseeola  Mill-.  B.  J.  Stevens.  MadNon. 

W.T.  Price,  Block  River  FalN.  O.  H.  Ingram.  Kau  Claire. 

Win.  Wilson.  Menomonee.  D.  A.  McDonald.  LaCn><-e. 

J.  C.  Gregory.  Madison.  John  C.  Huggins,  Racine. 

USHERS. 

J.  W.  M.  Boyd,  St.  LouN.  E.  B.  Grace,  St.  LonN. 

Walter's.  Bartley,  St.  LouN.  E.  B.  Eno,  St.  Loui>. 


PAGES. 

W.  J.  Lemp,  Jr.,  St.  LonN.  Booth  Alexander.  St. 

Kdwanl  MeKnni-.  St.  Loiii-.  Ben  Allen  Samuel.  St. 

Thomas  Booth,  Jr.,  St.  Louis.  Mi«  haei  MeKmii-.  Jr..  St.  Louis. 


MEMORIAL  TO  CONGRESS. 


To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the    United 

States,  in  General  Assembly  convened: 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Mississippi  River  Improve- 
ment Convention,  held  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in 
October  last,  under  one  of  the  resolutions  unanimously  adop- 
ted, were  charged  with  the  duty  of  preparing  and  presenting 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  a  Memorial  embodying 
the  action  of  the  Convention,  accompanied  with  such  statistics 
and  information  .as  the  Committee  might  deem  expedient. 

The  Convention  which  committed  this  grave  duty  tp  your 
memorialists  was  one  representing,  in  an  unusual  degree,  the 
commercial  and  industrial  power  of  the  country.  The  highest 
order  of  talent,  judgment,  matured  by  careful  thought  and 
large  experience  of  the  great  question  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  progress  and  development  of  the  imperial  domain 
comprehended,  met  in  council,  and  the  important  question  was 
considered  by  men  representing  twenty  States  and  three  Ter- 
ritories, and  half  the  population  of  the  Union.  Not  less  remark- 
able was  the  variety  of  interests  gathered  and  given  utterance 

v  O 

to  there.  The  farmers,  the  merchants,  the  bankers,  the  man- 
ufacturers, the  professions,  and  the  heads  of  great  transporta- 
tion lines  by  river  and  rail,  with  earnest  zeal  discussed,  and 
with  striking  unanimity  reached  the  conclusions  embodied  in 
the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Convention,  and  which  it  now 
becomes  the  duty  of  your  memorialists  to  urge  upon  the 
National  Legislature. 

The  Convention  was  no  new  move,  and  the  presentation  of 
its  conclusions  is  but  a  repetition  of  a  thrice-told  tale. 

[231] 


232 

For  a  half  century,  from  the  period  when  the  now  mighty 
West  was  but  a  wilderness,  the  people  of  the  Valley  have  from 
time  to  time  gathered  to  present  the  claims  of  the  noble  streams- 
which  intersect  it,  and  to  urge  upon  the  General  Government 
the  necessity  and  the  duty  of  so  improving  them  that  they 
would  become  the  cheap  and  convenient  highways  for  inter- 
communication between  the  producers  of  the  upper  and  the 
lower  valley.  The  grand  culmination  of  these  gatherings 
was  presented  when,  on  the  26th  of  last  October,  the  last  Mis- 
sissippi River  Convention  assembled  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis. 
Meantime,  the  progress  of  trade,  the  development  of  indus- 
trial resources,  the  growth  of  population,  have  invested  the 
movement  with  vaster  importance.  It  is  no  longer  a  matter 
of  local  interests,  but  of  national,  in  truth,  of  international 
importance,  and  as  such  we  commend  its  action  to  your  con- 
sideration. 

The  initial  proposition  is,  that  just  in  proportion  as  the 
rates  of  carriage  have  been  diminished,  the  growth  of  the 
West  can  be  traced,  and  that  the  question  of  cheap  transpor- 
tation is  found  underlying  all  progress  and  development. 

Just  in  proportion  that  the  aid  of  the  Government  has  been 
given  to  render  the  water-ways  safe  and  easy  to  navigation, 
just  in  that  proportion  have  freights  been  cheapened,  have  the 
burdens  and  expenses  upon  capital  and  labor  been  removed,, 
have  disasters  destructive  to  life  and  property  been  averted, 
and  the  beneficent  results  of  commerce  showered  upon  all  the 
people  of  the  country. 

In  view  of  such  results,  it  may  be  deemed  strange  that  the 
aid  of  the  General  Government  has  been  accorded  to  the  West, 
in  a  ratio  so  incommensurate  with  the  whole  benefit  to  be 
realized,  while  to  artificial  and  expensive  modes,  money  and 
credit  to  more  than  a  hundred  millions  have  been  given,  and 
the  choicest  public  domain  lavished  with  unstinted  generosity, 
while  scarcely  a  fourth  of  that  princely  sum  has  been  bestowed 
upon  the  gn-at  waterways,  and  the  lands  Lfiven  for  their  im- 
provement and  safety  were  only  made  useful  and  valuable  by 


233 

the  toil  and  the  taxes  of  the  people  of  the  lower  valley  in  the 
vain  and  unequal  contest  with  the  destroying  floods.  The 
losses  in  property  for  lack  of  the  aid  which  the  Government 
might  have  easily  given,  have  in  single  years  of  disaster  ex- 
ceeded all  that  has  ever  been  given  to  the  improvement  of  the 
channel  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

Your  memorialists  in  presenting  such  facts  would  not  be 
understood  as  challenging  the  acts  of  Congress  in  granting 
liberal  aid  to  the  system  of  artificial  carriage.  These  systems 
have  been  grand  and  noble  factors  of  the  material  career,  the 
splendid  co-workers  of  a  progressive  and  vitalizing  civiliza- 
tion. The  combinations  of  the  two  systems  have  been 
required  to  give  the  complete  development  witnessed  through- 
out the  whole  country.  Neither,  alone,  could  have  wrought 
the  results  which,  unitedly,  they  have  achieved.  We  invite 
your  careful  attention  to  some  of  these  results.  In  the  area 
drained  from  north  to  south  by  navigable  water-ways,  and  in- 
tersected from  east  to  west  by  lines  of  railroads,  are  pro- 
duced nearly  three-fourths  of  the  food  and  textile  products  of 
the  whole  country,  while  in  manufacturing  industries  it  is  des- 
tined as  the  natural  center  of  food  and  material  to  become  in 
the  near  future  the  proper  home  of  all  productive  industry. 
To  this  it  would  be  vain  and  idle  to  deny  that  the  artificial 
lines  have  largely  contributed. 

Yet  we  can  but  point  to  the  fact  that  as  the  two  systems 
have  been  developed,  the  natural  and  cheaper  route  has  been 
the  counter-check  of  the  artificial  and  more  expensive,  has 
saved  to  the  producer  the  profits  of  capital,  labor  and  indus- 
try, and  cheapened  the  necessities  of  life  to  the  consumer. 

Even  as  the  water-ways  now  stand,  with  imperfect  and  ob- 
structed channels,  one-eighth  of  the  export  trade  of  the  country 
goes  to  the  sea  at  less  than  one-third  the  cost  at  which  it  could  be 
transported  by  rail.  •  The  establishment  of  a  deep  outlet  at  the 
South  Pass,  through  the  genius  of  Eads,  the  signal-light  ser- 
vice at  the  shoal  and  dangerous  localities,  and  the  channel 
improvement  effected  by  a  meager  dole  from  the  National 


234 

Treasury,  have  in  one  season  doubled  the  tonnage  from  the 
port  of  St.  Louis  alone,  and  raised  the  through  shipments  of 
bulk  grain  from  6,164,838  bushels  in  1879  to  15,762,664 
bushels  in  1880,  while  the  savings  of  freight  have  added  mil- 
lions to  the  profits  of  capital  and  labor.  So  we  say,  that  while 
it  was  well  and  wise  for  Congress  by  liberal  aid  to  foster  and 
•encourage  the  splendid  features  of  greatness  found  in  the 
railway  system,  it  has  not  been  either  wise  or  well  to  with- 
hold from  the  cheaper,  and  therefore  more  important  channel 
the  aid  which  would  make  them  equal  to  the  needs  of  a  gigan- 
tic trade.  "  These  things  ye  ought  to  have  done,  and  not  to 
have  left  the  other  undone.'' 

Without  stopping  to  consider  in  full  the  capabilities  of  the 
great  valley,  the  full  development  of  which  is  only  to  be  found 
in  the  needed  improvements  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  naviga- 
ble tributaries,  we  can  only  point  to  the  fact  that  in  this  area 
is  contributed  the  proportion  of  seventy  per  cent,  of  the 
internal  revenue  ;  and  that  it'  the  progress  now  manifested  is 
fostered  and  enlarged  by  the  liberal  action  of  Government  on 
this  line,  the  strengthening  of  the  national  credit  is  assured, 
and  the  generation  now  emerging  into  the  fields  of  active  life 
can  record  the  extinguishment  of  the  national  debt  without  a 
strain  upon  either  individual  citizen,  or  the  resources  of  the 
States  or  the  Nation.  Here,  the  internal  commerce  is  more 
than  half  that  of  all  the  country  besides,  is  twelve  time- 
greater  than  its  foreign  commerce,  aggregating  in  values  the 
-commerce  of  the  world.  This  interior  commerce  carefully 
preserved  to  our  citizens  and  jealously  guarded  by  our  laws 
finds  its  grandest  field  of  profitable  exercise  upon  the  inland 
.seas  that  .span  the  continent,  floating  in  various  modes  all 
the  commodities  to  the  ocean,  to  be  thence  borne  to  all  the 
people  abroad.  The  fact  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  fleets 
of  steamers  and  liarires  leaving  the  wharves  of  St.  Louis  in  a 
single  day  would  have  accomplished  on  their  return  an  aggre- 
gate voyage  of  13,000  miles,  and  St.  Louis  is  only  one  of  the 
ports  sending  fleets  of  proximate  magnitude  throughout  the 
Valley. 


235 

Nor  need  we  pause  to  discuss  the  constitutional  right  of  the 
Government  in  this  behalf.  On  this,  parties  and  sections  are 
agreed,  for  it  has  been  recognized  as  not  only  sanctioned  by 
the  Constitution  but  demanded  by  the  necessities  of  the  people, 
that  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Government  to  so  improve 
these  great  arteries  of  trade  that  they  shall  be  equal  to  all 
business  needs.  No  one  of  the  twenty  States  and  Territories 
lying  along  the  15,000  miles  of  navigable  waters  comprised  in 
the  river  system  has  either  the  power  or  right  to  set  about 
improving  the  channels.  The  work  of  one  would  be  found 
detrimental  to  the  other.  The  whole  system  of  improvement 
is  a  legitimate  charge  upon  the  Government,  in  the  common 
interests  of  all,  by  plans  at  once  uniform,  intelligent.and  hom- 
ogeneous. To  this,  as  the  Convention  viewed  it,  the  Govern- 
ment is  fully  committed. 

First.  By  liberal  appropriations  made  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  which,  in  facilitating  the  export  trade,  the  bulk  of  which 
is  furnished  by  the  staples  of  the  West  and  South,  have  returned 
to  the  people  of  the  Valley  ten,  nay,  an  hundred  fold  in  ben- 
efits to  trade,  advantages  and  profits  to  labor. 

Second.  By  the  action  of  your  body  on  the  28th  of  June, 
1879,  in  the  creating  of  the  River  Commission,  a  body  charged 
with  the  work  of  improving  the  great  river  throughout  its 
entire  extent,  and  by  the  appropriations  subsequently  made 
to  carry  on  its  magnificent  work. 

Your  memorialists  point  with  great  satisfaction  to  the 
hearty  and  unanimous  endorsement  given  by  the  Convention 
to  the  work  of  so  important  a  body  created  by  yourselves, 
and  to  the  earlier  proceedings  of  which  you  gave  your  delib- 
erate and  emphatic  approval.  The  Convention  recognized  the 
Commission  as  a  fair,  just,  and  liberal  tribute  to  the  great  ends 
to  be  accomplished  through  it,  and  which,  upon  well-placed 
convictions,  it  declared  could  only  be  accomplished  according 
to  the  plans  formulated  and  estimates  made  by  the  Commis- 
sion. 

The  Convention  felt  deeply  and  expressed  itself  warmly  to 


236 

the  effect,  thut  the  legislation  so  wisely,  and  the  work  so 
auspiciously  begun,  should  be  carried  forward  according  to 
these  plans,  by  regular  and  separate  appropriations  from  year 
to  year,  such  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary,  and  under  the 
supervision  of  the  body  which  created  it.  For  that  end  we 
now  ask  your  approval,  and  to  its  accomplishment  urge  your 
co-operation. 

There  are  economic  and  advantageous  considerations- 
involved  which  we  deem  proper  to  press  upon  }rour  attention. 
The  action  of  the  Convention  was  a  hearty  and  unanimous 
response  to  the  action  of  Congress  in  creating  the  Commission, 
and  it  would  be  a  retrogression  in  legislative  action  to  stop 
short  of  the  end  proposed  ;  distasteful,  too,  to  an  energetic 
race,  whose  motto,  under  the  impulses  of  destiny,  is  ever 
"forward."  Besides  the  profits  alike  to  the  producer  and 
consumer,  pointed  out  by  deepening  and  rectifying  the  chan- 
nels of  the  water-ways,  the  ulterior  and  practical  purpose  of 
the  Commission,  is,  by  its  work,  to  confine  the  river,  even  at 
flood  seasons,  to  its  bed,  and  thus  reclaim  to  habitation  and 
productive  industry  the  vast  and  fertile  regions  of  the  lower 
riparian  States,  which,  under  the  calamities  of  an  unhappy 
past,  have  been  remanded  to  the  desolation  of  the  wilderness. 

Such  a  result  is  eminently  commended  alike  to  the  gener- 
osity and  unselfish  patriotism  of  the  whole  people,  and  will 
restore  homes  long  since  abandoned,  to  those  on  whom  the 
hand  of  misfortune  has  been  heavily  laid,  give  to  suffering 
States  the  return  of  a  needed  property,  and  cement  anew  the 
ties  of  fraternal  sympathy  between  once  alienated  sections, 
now  seeking  to  blot  out  forever  the  memories  of  unhappy  and 
unnatural  discord. 

The  aid  now  a-ke<l,  and  benefits  sought  to  be  received 
through  the  liberal  action  of  the  Government,  is  not  alone  for 
the  present,  nor  for  the  near  succeeding  years,  but  stretches- 
to  the  distant  future — that  eventful  and  busy  future  for  which 
it  is  the  duty  and  business  of  statesmanship  to  prepare.  The 
Valley  States  and  those  in  the  farther  \\'<-t  and  Southwest,. 


237 

bound  together  by  the  chords  of  a  common  interest,  are  fast 
gaining  the  political  power  which  will  make  them  the  grantors 
instead  of  the  solicitors  of  favors  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  Government.  A  compliance  now  with  their  reasonable 
demands  will  be  gratefully  recognized,  and  will  hereafter  find 
reciprocal  response.  A  refusal  will  breed  an  antagonism  of 
sections  which  may  lead  to  sectional  issues. 

The  action  of  the  Convention  was  not  a  thing  done  in  a 
corner,  in  the  interest  of  se'ctions,  or  to  carry  out  the  objects 
of  parties.  It  was  broadly  national  in  its  call,  in  its  represen- 
tative membership,  and  in  its  declared  objects.  It  was  the 
result  of  matured  policies,  to  which  the  executive  and  repre- 
sentative authorities  of  one  half,  and  far  from  the  least  impor- 
tant part  of  the  Union,  gave  the  most  unqualified  approval. 
To  this  members  in  both  your  houses  can  bear  testimony. 

And  now  we  ask,  can  there  be  a  more  propitious  time  for 
the  National  Legislature  to  recognize  the  value  and  importance 
of  the  work? 

The  products  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  carried  cheaply  by 
the  river  route  (and  through  its  influence  less  expensively  by 
rail)  to  the  outer  markets,  have  thrown  the  balance  of  the 
world's  trade  grandly  in  our  favor.  Since  this  power  and 
influence  has  been  recognized,  for  the  first  time  in  our  history 
we  now  have,  among  kindred  commercial  nations,  the  rank  of 
creditor.  The  long-sought  position  has  been  obtained  through 
the  agency  of  cheap  transportation  from  the  interior  to  the 
sea  ;  a  policy  we  can  only  maintain  by  carrying  the  thought 
to  the  utmost  conclusion. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  favorably 
presented  by  President  Arthur  in  his  message,  shows  a  surplus 
revenue  of  over  $100,000,000  for  the  last  fiscal -year,  and  the 
question  suggests  itself,  how  can  this  accruing  surplus  be 
properly  and  most  beneficially  expended.  Those  for  whom 
we  speak  do  not  complain  of  the  burdens  of  taxation. 
They  do  not  ask  for  the  present  reduction  or  speedy  extin- 
guishment of  the  national  debt,  but  they  do  ask  that  this  sur- 


238 

plus  shall  in  part  be  applied  to  their  great  and  cheap  thorough- 
fares, feeling  that  when  this  is  done  they  can  bear  the  burdens 
imposed  by  the  Government  in  the  form  of  taxes,  much  easier 
than  those  resulting  from  defective  and  crippled  transportation. 
Now,  in  the  days  of  our  prosperity,  they  ask  those  to  whom 
they  have  entrusted  their  rights,  to  lay  aside  local  antagonisms 
and  sectional  jealousies,  to  compass  the  height  of  the  argument 
and  conclusions  presented,  and  meet  the  action  of  the  Conven- 
tion by  the  exercise  of  a  statesmanship  as  broad  and  compre- 
hensive as  that  which  marked  its  deliberations. 

E.    O.    STANARD,  Chairman,  St.  Louis. 

DUXCAN  F.  KENNER,  New  Orleans. 

J.  F.  STOCKDALE,  Pittsburg. 

WM.  P.  HALLIDAY,  Cairo. 

MICHAEL  McExxis,  St.  Louis. 

GEO.  H.  FRENCH,  Davenport. 

E.  P.  BAKER,  Topeka. 

CHAS.  A.  ZOLLINGER,  Fort  Wayne. 

ALEX.  CAMPBELL,  West  Virginia. 

S.  F.  COVIXGTON,  Cincinnati. 

NATHAN  COLE,  St.  Louis. 

C.  C.  STURTEVANT,  Minneapolis. 

JAMES  CRAIG,  St.  Joseph. 

WM.  F.  PHELPS,  Winona. 

H.  G.  CLARK,  Omaha. 

LOGAX  H.  ROOTS,  Little  Rock. 

EUGENE  UNDERWOOD,  Louisville. 

H.  F.  SIMRALL,  Vicksburg. 

ED.  T.  JONES,  Nashville. 

WM.  CROOKS,  St.  Paul. 

B.  J.  STEVENS,  Madison,  Wis. 

Committee  of  Twenty-one. 

GEORGE  L.  WRIGHT,  Secretary,  St.  Louis. 


239 

STATEMENT  OF  VESSELS  EXTERED  AXD  CLEARED  AT  THE 
PORT  <>F  NEAV  ORLEANS  FROM  JANUARY.  1877.  TO  DECEM- 
BER. 


Entered  from  January  1,1877.  to  January  1.  1878. 

American  vessels  from  foreign  ports  .................................     2.">.~> 

Foreign  vessels  from  foreign  ports  ...................................     50O 

American  and  foreign  vessels  entered  coastwise  .......................     311 

Total  for  1877  ...................................................  1,066- 

Entered  from  January  1.  1S7S.  to  January  1,1879. 

American  vessels  from  foreign  ports  ...............................   .     270 

Foreign  vessels  from  foreign  ports  ...................................     612 

Foreign  and  American  vessels  entered  coastwise  .....................     264 

Total  for  1878  ...................................................  1,146- 

Entered  from  January  1.  1S79.  to  January  1.  1880. 

American  vessels  from  foreign  ports  .................................     232 

Foreign  vessels  from  foreign  ports  ...................................     573- 

Foreign  and  American  vessels  entered  coastwise  .....................     328 

Total  for  1879  ...................................................  1,133 

Entered  from  January  1,  1880,  to  January  1,  1881. 

American  vessels  from  foreign  ports  .................................     269 

Foreign  vessels  from  foreign  ports  ...................................     706 

Foreign  and  American  vessels  entered  coastwise  .....................     364 

Total  for  1880  ...................................................  1,339- 

Clearedfrom  January  1,  1877,  to  January  1,  1878. 
American  vessels  for  foreign  ports  ...................................     217 

Foreign  vessels  for  foreign  ports  .....................................     535- 

American  and  foreign  vessels  cleared  coastwise  ......................     383> 

Total  for  1877  ...................................................  1.135 

Cleared  from  January  1.  1878,  to  January  1,  1879. 
American  vessels  for  foreign  ports  ...................  -.  ...............     206- 

Foreign  vessels  for  foreign  ports  ..................................  .  .     594 

American  and  foreign  vessels  cleared  coastwise  ...................  .  .     370 

Total  for  1878  ...................................................  1,170 

Cleared  from  January  1,  1879,  to  January  1,  1880. 
American  vessels  for  foreign  ports  ...................................     193. 

Foreign  vessels  for  i(  >reign  "ports  .....................................     637 

American  and  foreign  vessels  cleared  coastwise  ......................     411 

Total  for  1S79  ...................................................  1.241 

Cleared  from  January  1,  1880.  to  January  1,  1881. 
American  vessels  for  foreign  ports  ...................................     226 

Foreign  v<->.-H>  f<  »r  f<  >ivign  ports  .....................................     708 

American  and  foreign  v<->sels  cleared  c<  »astwise  ...................... 

Total  for  1880  ...................................................  1,349- 


INDEX. 


Title  page, 
Preface  — 


TION  1.— FIRST  DAY. 

Calling  the  Convention  to  order,  by  Michael  McEnnis 5 

Heading  the  '•  Official  Call  " 5—    S 

Address  of  Michael  McEunis 8—  10 

Address  of  "Welcome,  by  Hon.  Henry  Hitchcock 10 —  23 

Election  of   Gov.  T.  T.   Crittenden.   of  Missouri,   as  Temporary 

Chairman 23 

Address  of  Governor  Crittenden 23 —  25 

Selection  of  Committee  on  Credentials 26 —  33 

Chairmen  of  Delegations 33—  34 

s-lrc-tion  of  Committees  on  Permanent  Organization,  Order  of 

Business,  and  Resolutions 37 —  43 

Address  of  Gen.  Jones,  of  Iowa 45 —  40 

SECTION  2.— SECOND  DAY. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Vf .  G.  Eliot 50—  51 

Report  of  Committee  on  Order  of  Business ."2 

Report  of  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization 53 

Address  of  Hon.  Mark  H.  Dtiimell 54—  56 

Communication  from  President  of  the  Mississippi  River  Commis- 
sion    56 —  60 

Letter  from  Capt.  James  B.  Eads 60 

••     Hon.  Randall  L.   Gibson 61—63 

"     Hon.  James  B.  Beck 64 

"     Hon.  A.D.  Gorman 64 

••     Hon.  Abram  S.  Hewitt 65 

"     Hon.  B.  F.  Jonas 66 

"    Hon.  Thomas  L.  Jamea 66 

••     Hon.  George  B.  Loring <;u 

••     Hon.  Joseph  R.  IlawL-y (57 

"     Hon.  R.  G.  Horr 67 

••     lion.  Thomas  Updegraff ii7 

Reception  of  Resolutions 69 —  89 

Communication  from  Hon.  James  S.  Rollins 90 —  95 

Letter  of  Imitation.  Hulsey  C.  I  vcs 95 

[241] 


"242 

Letter  of  Invitation,  John  X.  Dyer JMJ 

Eeception  of  more  Kesolutions JM> —  98 

Address  of  Judge  R.  S.  Taylor 99—105 

Speech  of  Capt.  McKenzie 107 

"       "    Hon.  Joseph  G.  Cannon 108—110 

44       "    Gen.  Rozier 111—112 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions 113—116 

Debate  on  Supplemental  Report 118 — 130 

SECTION  3.— THIRD  DAY. 

Telegram  from  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine 131 

Renewal  of  Debate  on  Supplemental  Report 132 

Speech  upon  it  by  Ex-Gov.  McEnery,  of  La 1 32 

44            u        4t    Judge  Murphy,  of  Iowa 133—135 

44            ••        "    Ex-Gov.  E.  O.  Stanard,  of  Mo 1 35 

44        4i    Hon.  Henry  Hitchcock,  of  Mo 1 137 

44            44        "    Mr.  Benton,  of  Minn 137 

"    Hon.  A.  AV.  Slayback,  of  Mo '. . .  138—139 

••    Hon.  Philo  Parsons,  of  Midi 140 

••    Hon.  T.  B.  Taylor,  of  Ala Ml 

44           44        i4    Hon.  Eugene  Underwood,  of  Ky 141—1.14 

44            ••        ••    Mr.  Rozier,  of  Mo 144 

4-            4i         4i    Hon.  Geo.  II.  Shields,  of  Mo 145—14(5 

44            "        4t    Hon.  John  T.  White,  of  Ky 147—150 

44            44        44    Hon.  II.  T.  Elliot,  Term 150—152 

4'            44        44    Dr.  J.  P.  Root.  Kas 154 

Debate  on  Resolution  of  Mr.  I*.  1).  Walker,  of  Minn 15(1— 15f» 

Address  of  Hon.  W.  S.  Shallcnl..---.-!-.  of  Penn l.V.) 

Resolutions  of  Thanks l  <;-j 

Speech  of  Congressman  Willis,  of  Ky H52 — 1G4 

44       44    Hon.  Wm.  M.  Springer 1G5— 1GG 

Adjournment 1 07 

Excursion  on  the  River 1G7 — 171 

SECTION    !.— LKTTKKS. 

Letter  fromllon.  John  A.  Kasson 1 7'2 

44        44     Hon.  E.  C.  Lacy 172 

44         4t     Hon.  A.  II.  <.ar!an<l 173 

44       "    Hon.  T.  W.  Ferry 17:; 

••     Hon.  II.  AV.  Lord 173 

••     Hon.  Alvin  Saunters 174 

lion.  John  il.  (Ji-.-ir 174—175 

••      Hon.  Allx-rt  S.Willis 

-•     Bon.  Cha*.  E.  Hooker 17»; 

11     Hon.  KII^I-MI-   Hali- 170 

44          ••      : '»n.  .fames   Whrrlrr 177 

••      Hon.  W.  H.  Hatcli..,  177 


243 

*'  "  Hon.  Wm.  Aldrich 177 

"  lion.  II.  M.  A.  Hawk 178 

"  Hon.  J.  H.  Lewis ITS 

••  Hon.  Mark  L.  DeMotte 179 

«  Hon.  Geo.  AV.  Stock* 179 

»  Hon.  R.  W.  Townshend 1T9— ISO 

"  Hon.  H.  8.  Harris 180 

•»  Hon.  H.  B.  Anthony 180 

"  Hon.  F.  M.  Cockrell 181 

"  Hon.  L.  F.  Watson 182 

"  I  Ion.  J.  J.  Finley 182—183 

••  Hon.  John  Sherman 183 

"  Hon.  L.  S.  Farwell 183 

Hon.  Benj.  Harrison 184 

"  Hon.  Wilkinson  Call 184 

"  Hon.  W.  Hutchins 184 

11  Hon.  J.  B.  Hoge 185 

"  Hon.  X.  C.  Deering 185 

"  Hon.  B.  K.  Bruce 185 

"  Hon.  J.  K.  Jones 186 

"  Hon.  C.  B.  Darrell 180 

"  Hon.  W.  C.  Whitthorne 186 

*«  Hon.  John  T.  Morgan 187 

"  Hon.  Wm.  B.  Moore 187 

"  Hon.  A.  C.  Harmer 188 

Hon.  Jas.  M.  Tyler 188 

••  Hon.  Tho/5.  II.  Herndon 188 

"  lion.  G.  G.  Vest 189 

"  Hon.  John  D.  Long 189 

"  ]  [on.  AVm.  AV.  Crapo 190 

••  Xow  Orleans  Produce  Exchange 190 

••  Pittsburg  Chamber  of  Commerce 1!)0 

"  Forstall,  Ross  &  Clayton 191—199 

SECTION  5.— PRESS  COMMENTS. 

roit  Free  Press 200—203 

St.  Paul  Daily  Dispatch 203—205 

Louisville  Courier- Journal 205 

•he-Democrat 206 — 208 

St.  Louis  Advance  (Colored) 208 — 209 

St.  Louis-  Post-Dispatch 209 

St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat 209 

-Dispatch 210 

St.  Louis  Republican 210—211 

The  Nautical  Gazette.  N.  Y 211—214 

Sr.  Louis  !  >atch 214 

Louisville  Courier-Journal 215 21  (j 


244 

The  Spectator  (St.  Louis) 216 

M.  Louis  Republican 217 

Xew  Orleans  Picayune 218 — 221 

Davenport  Gazette 221 

SECTIOX  G. 

List  of  Delegates 222— 2;t() 

Memorial  to  Congress 2:>1 — 2;5S 

Statement  of  Vessels  Entered  and  Cleared  at  Xew  Orleans  from 

January.  1877,  to  December,  1880 2:;<> 


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